


Caffeine is Bad for the Soul

by butterbutt (orphan_account)



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Coffeeshop AU, Explicit Language, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-19
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-02-05 07:49:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 23,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1810840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/butterbutt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I, Kagami Taiga, work in a coffee shop turned bookstore with a cheesy-ass name.<br/>There happens to be this guy - Aomine Daiki - who is a wreck.<br/>Actually it's more like he turned my life into a wreck.<br/>The bastard doesn't even know he did it.<br/>Your typical coffee shop romance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. His Introduction

\------------------------------

There is this customer that always comes in; he comes in every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Blue hair; short enough to not cover his face, but long enough for a person to notice he had bed head. Dark eyes. Really, he wouldn’t be that special, if it wasn't for the fact that the guy looked like he belonged in a gym, not a coffee shop turned bookstore.

Which is where I work. I’m a college student who attends night classes and works during the day because my parents own the shop. Well, really, they own it and do absolutely nothing with it. _Actually_ , they’re on a four-month long vacation in America, so technically, the shop is mine. They named it "Tiger Coffee & Tea,” which is probably where my first name came from (creative, right?). It was an okay business, and then they got adventurous and decided to turn half the place into a bookstore. They were probably trying to compete with the Barnes and Nobles across from us. Anyway, I co-manage the place with a family friend named Himuro Tatsuya, but his story is for another time.

Back to the customer. He has a schedule that I more or less memorized. He comes into the store, the (annoying) bell would chime, he picks the book he is interested in from the shelf, plops down on a beanbag in the corner, and stays there for hours. 

The shop isn’t slow that I notice him every time, but it isn’t a Starbucks, either. 

“Kagami-kun, are you going to take this man’s order or shall I?” a polite voice inquired. I blinked and nodded while trying to ignore the blush that was crawling up my face. I quickly turned to face the man in front of the register.

The voice had belonged to Kuroko Tetsuya. A man of small stature, he attends night classes with me. He applied for the job as barista because he was good at it and because our schedules align perfectly. He's polite in a chilly kind of way and sometimes appears out of nowhere. He really doesn’t have much… _presence_. Other than his creepy way of sneaking up on people, he is quick on his feet and a very reliable co-worker. 

“Welcome to Tiger, what can I get for you today?” I said automatically. The customer in front of me scanned the menu with his eyes and readily brought his gaze to mine. 

“Small caramel macchiato and a vanilla bean scone.”

I nodded absently and pinned in the order onto my register. I grabbed a small cup and handed it to Kuroko who started to make the drink. While I heard churning and mixing behind me, I printed out the receipt, there was an exchange of money and change, and the man was on his way towards the straws.

I grabbed a pair of tongs and plucked a vanilla bean scone from the dessert tray to place onto a small tiger striped napkin.

And then I heard the clinking of bells. I glanced up and noticed him, the blue-haired man. Ah, today was a Wednesday. I followed his figure as he disappeared behind a bookshelf and reappeared, this time with a frown. He held a book in his hand and I watched curiously as he strode over to the empty stools that faced the barista’s work place.

He smoothly slid onto one of the stools and his gaze turned to the menu.

I gave the scone to the customer and walked back to the register. At my movement, the blue-haired man’s eyes had flickered and he steadily watched as I got ready to serve the next customer. His gaze was… intense.

I smiled and asked, “Welcome to Tiger, what can I get for you today?” to a woman. She smiled back and my job resumed to its normality. 

It had been a ways into the hour when the rush of customers was gone and I remembered the blue-haired man. He was still sitting on the barstool but he was a few pages into his book. I peeked at the title and it read, _The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes_. So he was a mystery reader.

He noticed my staring and his eyes moved up to meet mine.

“Hey,” I greeted, “Do you want anything to drink?”

His left eyebrow arched ever so slightly and he thought over the question. He opened his mouth to answer, “Just a small hot chocolate, please.”

I laughed but then quickly closed my mouth. His voice was a silky baritone but the reply was really entertaining.

He seemed to understand my inner struggle and scoffed in embarrassment.

“I don’t drink coffee.”

Though his look was a little spiteful, I kind of noticed a slight blush. Damn I had to admit that it was cute.

Oh, and by the way I _am_ gay. I don’t parade it around, but I do answer honestly when asked about my sexuality. I think people who fear for their sexuality are right, but I’m a 6”3’ man with muscles. Though, I swear, I don’t get into fights.

The blue-haired man took out his wallet, but I shook my head as I started to pour hot milk into the cocoa powder and sugar.

“On the house.”

The man blinked and then returned his wallet to his back jean pocket. “Why?”

I shrugged, “Feel like it. Would you rather I put it on a tab?”

The man shrugged back. “How do you know I’ll come back?”

I stopped moving and kind of grinned, “You’ve been here a lot.” I looked up and he was watching me curiously. “What’s your name so I can put it on your cup?” I demanded.

“Aomine.”

“Kagami.”

“What?”

“My name’s Kagami. I’ll add this hot chocolate to your tab, then. Make sure you come back to pay your tab off.”

Aomine squinted inquisitively. “Are you indirectly telling me to come again?”

“More like directly, but yeah.”

Aomine leaned back a little in his stool, “Are you an arrogant bastard who’s assuming I’m gay or a stupid bastard who’s just flirting anyway? ”

I recoiled a bit, but then replaced my surprised expression with one of confidence, “I have a gaydar. It works pretty damn well, about half the time.”

Aomine’s eyebrows furrowed and I found the expression to be kind of endearing. He was tan and from up close I could see just how tall he really was. He was more or less my height, but a little more lean. I work out so, not like I’m bragging, but I’m pretty buff. He effortlessly looked cool in his jeans and white V-neck. It was actually a little irritating.

I finished mixing the hot chocolate and swirled the whip cream on top. Aomine watched me and wondered aloud, “Do you put cookie crumbles on top?”

My head cocked at the question, but I smiled. So he had a sweet tooth. I grabbed the cookie crumbles that were held in a silver shaker and sprinkled it on.

I placed it on the counter for him and said, “I usually don’t, but what the hell. Enjoy.”

He picked up the cup and his book and gave a look at me. I didn’t know what kind of look it was.

“Well, then, _Kagami_ , I’ll come back next time to pay off my tab.”

I rolled my eyes at his tone. I watched him disappear behind the bookshelf and then re-emerge to give me one passing glance he didn’t think I’d notice (but I did). Once I heard the clinking of the bells, I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

Holy shit, I just flirted with a customer.

Holy shit, I just added cookie crumbles to a hot chocolate for a customer.

Holy shit, he was coming again.

I internally freaked out, only to be interrupted by a polite voice.

"Kagami-kun, please stop flailing around and help the next customer."

\------------------------------

“Yes, I am quite _aware_ that you are gay, Kagami.” 

I rolled my eyes and gave my friend his earl-gray tea. Midorima Shintarou is his name and he was a tall-ass man with shockingly green hair and a sour attitude, most of the time. He was an unlikely friend, but somehow we bonded over chemistry (well, more like he helped me out) and he frequented my coffee and teashop a lot ‘cause I made him tea for free.

“Yeah, but have you seen him? You’re here a lot.”

Midorima shook his head and he sipped at his drink. His longer careful fingers put the warm drink down on the counter and he drummed them slightly against the marble.

He asked, “What’s so special about him? Is he intelligent?”

I shrugged and frowned. “I don’t know. Talked to him for the first time a couple days ago.”

“Then what’s so special about-“ Midorima closed his mouth into a thin line. I could tell he was holding back various verbal insults. He was like that sometimes. He opened his mouth again, “Then, introduce me.”

One of my eyebrows rose.

“Do I need your approval or something?”

Midorima sputtered and looked as if he was about to say something until another voice chipped into the conversation.

“He’s very protective over his friends, aren’t you, Shin-chan?”

Takao Kazunari. He was another one of my friends, though he was closer to Midorima, it seemed. We all attend the same university with night classes, but different teachers and subjects. He was a small thing, raven-haired, and drank a hell of a lot of coffee. That was another reason he was at Tiger a lot.

Midorima groaned at Takao’s entrance and scooted a seat over for Takao to plop himself down onto the barstool.

“Hey, Kagami! How about a vanilla latte?”

I gave him a disbelieving look. “Are you gonna pay for it?”

He pouted. “Shin-chan doesn’t pay! Just add it to my tab.”

Before I could say a word about how there were about 50 drinks on Takao’s tab, I was interrupted.

A deep voice said, “Speaking of a tab…” 

My eyes widened and I looked up and came face to face with midnight blue eyes.

“Yo,” Aomine greeted. His hair was a little more messy than usual, but that was probably because of the wind. He wore dark jeans, a t-shirt, and a puffer jacket. To be honest, I could have drooled had I not been paying attention to my jaw at that particular moment. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Takao’s eyes glitter and his jaw drop ever so slightly. I could even hear him mentally wolf-whistle. And then his eyes somehow shifted and his expression changed.

“Welcome back, how can I help you, Aomine?” I asked.

Midorima’s eyes narrowed at the name. 

“A small hot chocolate.”

Takao snickered at the response but immediately shut up when Aomine shot him a glare. I nodded and grabbed a small cup to get his order started.

Takao put his hands together, prayer style, and apologized with a smile on his face, “Sorry, didn’t mean to make fun of you! Want a seat?” He proceeded to scoot Midorima, quite forcefully, into the next seat and moved down himself. He patted the now empty barstool invitingly.

Aomine shook his head, “No, I have to leave after I get my drink.”

Takao shrugged and said, “Okay, whatever suits your fancy!”

“Going somewhere?” I asked as I stirred the drink.

Aomine rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, “Yeah, got a kid to take care of.”

Takao nearly spat out the tea he had drunken from Midorima’s cup. He often stole sips and loved teasing Midorima about “indirect kisses.”

I looked up, my expression probably hilariously surprised. Aomine didn’t seem to notice until he was greeted with silence.

“No – oh fuck, no, I tutor,” he stuttered, “I don’t have a kid or shit.”

Takao full on _guffawed_. If he were not kept up by the barstool, he probably would have rolled on the floor laughing. I, also, couldn’t help a short laugh. It was mixed with actual humor and a little bit of relief. 

Aomine blushed again, which I thoroughly enjoyed. 

I smiled at the drink as I topped it off with whip cream and cookie crumbles. Midorima and Takao didn’t comment on the cookie crumbles, although they had watched me make a hot chocolate without them millions of times before.

I handed the drink over to Aomine and was surprised when our fingers made slight contact. He didn’t seem to notice and he pulled away. I, though, felt a little surge of _something_.

Aomine started to walk away and reached the door before Midorima commented, rather gruffly, “Are you not going to pay?” 

Aomine turned around and threw a cocky grin my way.

“Add it to my tab.”

With that, the bells twinkled and he was gone. Takao promptly turned to face me, his expression full of questions.

“His name’s Aomine,” I sighed, “He comes here a lot to read.”

Takao hummed thoughtfully, “I feel like I’ve seen him before.”

I nodded, wondering why Takao hadn’t made a snarky comment yet. Usually Takao would be on a tandem right now, talking about everything and anything that related to Aomine or how good-looking he was.

“I don’t like him,” Midorima stated.

Takao giggled and punched him softly, “That’s because you think he’s going to steal our little Taiga-chan away!”

Midorima looked disgusted for a second, but he didn’t deny it, he simply took another sip from his cup. I started to work on Takao’s vanilla latte.

When I started to add the whip cream, Takao suddenly exclaimed.

“Oh, and what was it about the cookie crumbles!” 

I flushed and mumbled, “He asked for them the first time.”

Takao crooned, “That is fricking adorable, oh, our Taiga-chan is all grown up! He’s even blushing!” 

Midorima harrumphed and told Takao to shut up because he was causing a commotion. Kuroko all of a sudden emerged from the break room and admonished us all. “Midorima-kun, Takao-kun, you’re distracting Kagami-kun.”

Takao pouted, his eyes like a puppy. 

“Kuroko, don’t be mad!”

\------------------------------


	2. His Story

\------------------------------

Today was a particularly slow Monday. Usually on Mondays I get plenty of cranky adults (and sometimes college students) who come in and grumble, “coffee with extra shots.” But today, it was slow.

“Kagami-kun, can you please go to the back to get more cups?” Kuroko requested. I nodded and went to the back storage room to scavenge for cups and some lids, just in case.

The back was a wreck and honestly, I couldn’t find anything. I always knew it was a disaster in the back, which is usually why I opted to stay at the register. Usually Himuro would have it cleaned up at night, since he keeps the coffee shop maintained after 5 PM while I’m at classes. He was the more… responsible one of us two. Not like I’m _not_ responsible, I run a fucking shop after all (even though Himuro does most of the financial stuff).

After long, long minutes of digging, I finally found the familiar cups and lids in a box. The box was brown like _every other fucking box in the room_. I made a mental note to label all shipments that came in. I didn’t want to spend another minute in that storage room after I swear I saw the hugest spider of my life scramble around before my eyes. _Arachnids_.

I shook off imaginary dirt and made my way back to the front.

My heart thudded as I noted a familiar hair color at the counter. Kuroko was currently in a conversation with Aomine, who sat slouchingly against the barstool.

When I approached them and handed the cups to Kuroko, the conversation ceased.

“Hey,” Aomine drawled. His right hand held a new book this time, _And Then There Were None_ , and his left hand held a small hot chocolate, which I noted, didn’t have any cookie crumbles on top.

I instantly wished that _I_ had made the damn drink. But then I berated myself for being jealous over such a small thing.

I beamed at him and replied my own chipper “hey” which I instantly regretted because it was too cheerful for even my ears. At that point, Kuroko left and was already at the coffee machine grinding up fresh coffee beans.

“How was your day?” I asked casually. I played with the Sharpie in my hands that I used to mark people’s names on cups. Were my hands shaking?

He huffed and replied, “Shitty.”

“Why?”

He looked at me, wondering if I was asking out of politeness or actual interest. When he surveyed that I actually looked genuine, he continued to rant, “Woke up late for work. Fucking train wreck, spilled everything today and ran into the most annoying asshole in the universe of assholes.”

I stifled a snicker. “Huh, is he really that big of an asshole or are you exaggerating?”

He shrugged and looked at me again while taking a sip out of his drink. I laughed when I noted he had a whip cream mustache.

“Not exaggerating. ‘Smatter of fact, he has the same damn hair color you do.”

My eyes widened. There weren’t that many redheads in our town! “Wait, you’re not talking about me, are you?!”

He hurriedly put the drink down and shook his head vigorously, “No, he just has the same hair color.”

I sighed in relief and then internally cried over how emotional I had gotten all of a sudden. I needed to keep myself in check. I felt like an overenthusiastic guy who had never gotten laid and was suddenly given the chance of his life.  
I decided to change the subject. “So, why do you come here if you don’t drink coffee?” 

He raised an eyebrow at me. “To read, what else?”

“Oh,” I sputtered, embarrassed. Right, I had forgotten about that. 

“It’s not to see you, if that’s what you were wondering.”

“I never asked that, idiot! Don’t go assuming things…” 

My face was already hot and I couldn’t do anything about it. When I glanced up from my Sharpie to his face, I relaxed when he seemed more amused than annoyed.

“You just called a customer an idiot,” he mocked. In the same fake incredulous tone he said, “I demand to see your godforsaken manager.”

“I am the manager.”

At that, he was surprised. He quickly covered it up. “Well, then I have complaints.”

“Don’t wanna hear ‘em.”

“Wait, but seriously, you’re the manager? What gives?”

I thought of where to start. Was I going to spill my life story? Was I just going to tell him the gist? I started with, “Wouldn’t you rather read your book?”

He rolled his eyes, “Just tell me already, Agatha Christie can wait.”

“What?”

“The author of the book is Agatha Christie,” he answered patiently.

“I knew that.”

“Sure, you did.”

To prove his point, he put down the book and his eyes were all on me. The attention was nerve-wracking to say the least. I had to say, something about his aura oozed “I’m gonna fuck you” and “I’m gonna fuck you up” which were two different things. I liked them both, honestly, and shit, am I getting in deep or what?

“Where to start…” I began.

\------------------------------

“Wait, no shit, you actually live alone. Can’t believe your parents just up and left! How old are you, anyway?’

“24, so I can live by myself just fine, asshole.”

He chuckled but threw back a, “don’t need to be so sassy, bastard.”

“How old are you?”

“Just turned 25 not so long ago. So I’m older than you,” he smirked.

I rolled my eyes, “You’re immature as hell, though.”

“You’re the one who just threw a sharpie at me!”

“Whatever!”

He took the last sip from his hot chocolate. He had been in Tiger for a good hour and a half and never once did he glance at his book. I smiled to myself. I was kind of happy he paid attention to me. He was sometimes an arrogant cock of a guy, but other than that he was pretty entertaining.

I sighed, “I thought you were cooler and older than this.”

“What do you mean by that?” he hissed. “I am plenty fucking cool, which is why you flirted, so _obviously_ , with me in the first place.”

I blushed. That was a low blow. “S-shut up.” I growled when his smile turned smug.

“Just pointing out the facts,” he sniggered.

Determined to change the subject, I asked, “So how about you? What’s Aomine’s life story?”

Aomine sat and contemplated. I waited patiently and meanwhile cleaned the counter with a wet rag. He was thinking deeply and I murmured under my breath, “Don’t think too hard or you’ll hurt your brain.”

He scowled at me and replied, “Shut up, at least I _have_ a brain.” 

“Bastard,” I spat and threw the wet rag at him. He returned it with ease, a small smirk on his face. Then, he turned serious.

“I’m Aomine Daiki.”

I nodded, “I’m well aware – wait. _Daiki_!? As in… you’re part of the family that owns the Aomine hospitals? No fuckin’ way.”

He observed me, gauging my reaction. “Yeah.”

“Well, shit.”

Aomine hummed. I thought he looked a little familiar. Apparently the Aomine family was a huge group in the practice of medicine and owned chains of hospitals all throughout Japan. The Aomine family was said to have three kids: two daughters and a son, but I had never imagined Aomine was one of them! 

I inspected his empty cup before realizing that it was empty, “Oh, and did you want more hot chocolate?” 

He stared at me.

“What?” I asked, unnerved.

“You aren’t surprised?”

“Well, I am, but hey, whatever’s your business is your business.”

“How about if I say I will be inheriting a shit load of money?”

“That’s great for you. Live off hot chocolate ‘till the ends of your days,” I snorted.

He let out a long hardy laugh, which surprised me. The laugh was, dare I say… _cute_. He smiled at me with his white as hell teeth and he held up his cup, his mood significantly brighter. 

“Hell yeah, hit me up with some more hot chocolate.”

\------------------------------

“Wait, so are you actually smart?” I asked, my mouth gaping.

He glowered at me and huffed, “I come here to _read_. Is that not intelligent to you?”

I chuckled, “Well, anyone can read, or pretend to. So do you work?”

He nodded.

“Can I try to guess it? Are you a construction worker?”

His nose crinkled, “Do I look like one?”

I shook my head honestly. But he had the body to bench press and carry whatever he wanted, so it was worth a try.

“How about office worker? Secretary or something?”

“Who wants to sit at a desk all day?”

“Apparently not you,” I replied. I speculated further in my mind. So he was active, but it didn’t sound like he did heavy-duty work. He probably wasn’t a pro-athlete, otherwise I would have heard of him. “Well, you said you tutor, so I _guess_ you gotta be smart. Is it part-time?”

He nodded, “Yeah, it’s part-time. I hate kids, but I teach them anyway. And wait, did you just fucking insult me, again!”

“Why?”

“I don’t take insults, Bakagami.”

“What, what kind of nickname is that, y-you… aho.. Ahomine! And no, I meant why do you teach kids if you hate them?”

“I’m not going to take money from my shitty parents.”

I scrutinized his eyes before nodding, “Yeah, I see where you’re coming from.”

He then took a sip from his hot chocolate and I once again saw the whip cream mustache. I couldn’t hold back my laugh this time, though, not when I learned he tried to be a cocky know-it-all. I couldn’t take him seriously.

His eyebrows rose and he frowned. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“Seriously, what!”

“Nothing!”

Kuroko came out of nowhere and said, “You have something on your upper lip…” before he promptly went back to the backroom. 

Aomine flushed and he raised his arm to wipe it away with his sleeve, until he saw that I was watching. His eyes brightened as if he had an idea and he put back down his arm.

He proceeded to lick his upper lip with his tongue. I followed his movements with my eyes and licked my own lips unconsciously. When he felt it was all gone, his tongue retreated back into his mouth and I broke out of my stupor and looked at the counter. 

Shit, my face was probably hotter than a fucking furnace. 

I had two choices. I could look up and look at his reaction or keep my eyes on the counter and try to melt into the floor. The first one was essentially unavoidable. 

Slowly I looked up and his expression hit me like a freight train. His eyes were calculating and there was some kind of heat in them. Just seeing him watching me was throwing me off all kinds of balances. His lips were quirked up in a knowing smirk and I quickly turned away. Dammit, he definitely knew what he was doing.

“Hi, can I take my order?”

I blinked and turned to the customer I hadn’t even known had approached. It took me a second to recover, but I smiled at her and I answered, “Of course! Welcome to Tiger, what can I get for you?”

As I took the order, I could feel his gaze burning its way through me.

\------------------------------


	3. His Burger Preference

\------------------------------

“His name’s Akashi. I mean, he’s small as hell, but he just… _gets on my nerves_. He acts like he’s the boss of the world and shit, but he is our age!”

I nodded in sympathy. “He sounds like a pain in the ass.”

“Yeah,” but Aomine shuddered, “I kinda feel like if I complained or did something wrong, he’d cut my head off.” Aomine stared off wistfully, taking another careful sip of his hot chocolate.

I continued to wipe down the counter, holding back a smirk at the thought of Aomine being executed by some pipsqueak. I tried to imagine the scene, a small redhead with different colored eyes (which I had to admit sounded pretty cool) wearing some royal garb and Aomine in prison clothing. 

I stopped moving for a second.

Delinquent Aomine. Wearing stripes. Face ragged. A glare that even scares the executor. _Fuck_.

I heaved a sigh and threw the washcloth into a bin. Aomine was looking at me with one eyebrow arched, wondering why I had sighed. I avoided eye contact because damn, I had screwed myself over. He was unbelievably hot, and I couldn’t deny it. Also, he was pretty witty (though sometimes his retorts are curse words alone) and never ceased in conversation. It was easy to talk to the guy. 

“Anyway, what time does Tiger close up?” Aomine asked.

I quickly glanced at the clock. 

“Well, Tatsuya comes in for his shift at 5pm. I go to night classes after.”

“Night classes?”

“Yeah, at Teikou U. I go with the two you met the other day and Kuroko.” 

Aomine hummed. He seemed to be thinking about something, but I felt out of place to ask. 

“Who’s Tatsuya?”

I pursed my lips and thought about how I should describe him. “A guy who co-manages Tiger with me. A bishie apparently - black hair, beauty mark, the whole thing. I hear there are tons more girls that come at night than in the morning,” I chuckled.

I didn’t really care about that part, seeing as how I’m gay, but it was a detail that I couldn’t _not_ describe.

Aomine inquired, “You like him?”

“Yeah.” I mean, what wasn’t there to like about Tatsuya?

Aomine’s eyes narrowed and he sipped his hot chocolate quietly. “Hm.”

I brought my eyes up to Aomine’s gaze and held it there. His eyes were dark; I could fall into them like they were bottomless pits. It was hard to read any emotion from those eyes, I realized. Then I understood his question.

“Oh!” 

“What?”

“No, no, you’ve got it wrong. Tatsuya’s my _brother_. Can’t like him that way, that’d be weird as hell!”

Aomine suddenly burst into color.

“Wh-what, I didn’t, that’s what I meant, idiot! I didn’t care about if you _like_ like him, I meant, yeah, what I meant earlier!”

I smiled in surprise. Aomine was flustered? I held back a laugh and turned away so that my smile wasn’t so prominent. I guess I could take it that Aomine liked me? Or was I being too presumptuous. After all, I didn’t really know if the guy was gay. And plus… he was kind of out of my league.

“I see,” I mused. 

He coughed into his hand and stood up from the barstool. “Uh, gotta go.”

I looked up at him and grinned, “Cool. Thanks for coming, makes the day less boring. See you again?”

He looked down and seemed to contemplate something.

“Yeah,” he eventually replied.

\------------------------------

I was taking off my brown apron before I heard bells jingle.

“Yo,”Aomine greeted. A smile had appeared on my face without me even knowing and I greeted back.

This was the first time Aomine had come in before 2 o’clock. He usually came at around 2-4pm when it was less busy. It was nice, because then I could actually talk to him without interruptions and _damn_ I really think I’m love-struck. 12:30 pm, I am on lunch break now, so I wasn’t sure about what I was going to do.

“Where you going?” Aomine asked when I had hung up the apron. 

“I’m on lunch.”

“Oh,” Aomine replied, “Wanna go eat something? I haven’t eaten anything yet.”

I looked up, surprised. I never thought Aomine would be the first to invite me. He seemed to notice my surprise and I quickly brought my eyes back to the coffee machine in front of me. I kind of expected Aomine’s expression to be teasing as it usually was, but his face had made it seem as if he had made some kind of mistake and intensely regretted it.

I don’t know if that was my imagination, but I was desperate for him to not take back the offer.

“Yeah, okay, where do you want to go?” I hurriedly asked.

Aomine blinked before he answered quietly, “Dunno. Don’t really go here.”

My head cocked to the side. Don’t really go here? He comes to the coffee shop at least every other day… oh.

“Do you mean… you only go to Tiger?”

Aomine was silent. My mouth was a little open as I was dumbstruck. I thought Aomine lived in the neighborhood or something or enjoyed some other store, but he comes solely to Tiger. I started to blush at the implications that came up; the assumptions that came in my mind. _Aomine only comes to Tiger. Aomine comes to see me. Aomine goes out of his way to come here. I’m special._  
I bit my lip and exhaled, trying to calm down my raging heart. This was dangerous. “O-okay, let’s go to Maji Burger.”

He nodded. I told Kuroko I was leaving and left through the doors with Aomine in front. The atmosphere was weird. Aomine was walking pretty damn fast and, not like I couldn’t keep up, but it was just so rushed. We made it to Maji Burger in a minute when it should’ve taken a couple minutes. 

“I’ll pay,” Aomine said gruffly when I went in line. I looked at him in surprise.

I retorted, “No, it’s cool, I’ll pay for myself.”

He nearly growled, “I said _I’ll_ pay, Bakagami. You make me drinks anyway.”

“But they’re on your tab, you gotta pay ‘em eventually.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

We casually bumped hips in an attempt to push each other out of line. I bragged that I was muscleier but damn, Aomine was strong! I didn’t expect it at all when he pushed me way out of the way when we reached the cash register and ordered. 

He said smoothly, “Two teriyaki burgers.” He didn’t seem to notice the worker swooning, but his eyes widened in surprise when he heard me order 6 cheeseburgers. 

“Isn’t that too much?” he asked when we waited for our orders.

I glowered at him, still sore over being beat. “It’s healthy to eat a lot.”

“That’s not even a lot, that’s a _fuckton_! Elephants eat like that!”

I rolled my eyes. “Drama queen.”

He glared back. We eventually grabbed our orders and made our way too a small booth. I was glad the atmosphere was back to the way it usually was. The banter made it more interesting and less tense.

“So… you don’t go around here, huh?” I asked, my tone a light and intentionally… flirty.

As expected, a nice pink crawled onto his cheeks. 

“I-I don’t _eat_ here. It’s different.” 

I nodded, but the smirk stayed on my face. I tore through the burgers one by one, keeping a careful eye on Aomine who was concentrating on his own food. His eyes pointed down at his food when he took a bite and I admired how long his lashes were. The curve of his nose was elegant and it was pointy enough to be just right. His lips were thin, but he usually grinned with his teeth, so it didn’t matter too much. Also, it was hot when he smirked, when one side of his lips were tugged up into a lopsided smile.

“Thanks for paying,” I said, out of the blue. 

He looked at me and I was thrown off guard at how intense his look was. Every time I know that his gaze is intense, but it never fails to surprise me. 

“No problem,” he answered. “But I’m not paying again, you elephant.”

I scoffed, but smiled anyway. This… was nice. I could get used to eating out with him. And our conversations weren’t forced. I wanted to… keep this going. And I really wasn’t sure how. 

But I knew how. My instincts knew to ask him now. Before my brain could comprehend any consequences, my mouth opened to blurt out:

“Do you wanna go out with me?”

\------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the update was so short! Actually, the next chapter will be up in two or three days because I got too excited and wrote it. Ha..ha..ha.. and you guys, by the way, will murder me when you read the next chapter.
> 
> Sometimes, I wish I didn't have crazy random writing sprees. Please comment, I love to read and reply to them!
> 
> Brie


	4. His Rejection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, please, please, play "Make it to Me" by Sam Smith in the second section. It really hits hard, dude. Really does.

“What?”

I gulped and considered pretending as if I hadn’t said anything. But I knew he heard. He was just caught by surprise.

“Do you wanna go out with me,” I repeated. “Like, date and stuff.”

I watched as Aomine’s face went from shock to something akin to pain. 

“Look, Kagami, sorry…”

What?

I put down the burger slowly. My hands were shaking. It was hard to register what he was saying. Wasn’t he interested? Why would he come to Tiger? Why would he invite me out to eat? Didn’t he want to hang out? Did I do something wrong?

“No, no, it’s okay. We’ll hang out; we won’t date-“ I tried to reconcile.

I was close to hyperventilating. Was he not gay? Did I assume wrong? Was it me? Did I move too fast? Was I not good enough? _Shit_.

“Sorry, Kagami, I-I …”

I nodded numbly. I didn’t fully understand, but somehow I understood. 

“Sorry, it was a stupid question,” I rose up to leave. “I didn’t – I wasn’t thinking.”

I left my burgers at the table and I started my way out of the booth. My head was swirling. I felt as if I could pass out. My heart was thumping and my head ached. What the hell, was rejection always this painful? I suddenly felt bad for all the girls in my high school I had rejected outright. So this was what it was like. To want someone who didn’t want you. To let yourself be vulnerable, but crushed. So _this_ was what real pain felt like. 

I didn’t expect him to grab me, but he did. His long fingers wound around my wrist and he tugged slightly.

“Wait,” he said, out of breath. He hadn’t even done anything to be out of breath. It was _me_ who should have been out of breath. _Me_ who should have sounded hurt. I looked at him with my red eyes, which I knew were filled with nothing but hurt. I saw him withdraw slightly and he wilted.

“Please don’t come to Tiger again,” I whispered. 

I pulled my hand away and he watched me leave. As I got closer to the door, I heard him call out, “What about my tab?”

I didn’t answer.

I heard the door close behind me and I let out a long breath. The cold air that hit me was welcome. It was mid-December. The semester was almost over. It was almost the holidays.

It hit me how much I had actually wanted to spend it with someone.

Spend it with Aomine.

I continued to walk and stuffed my hands into my jean pockets. I felt like I could cry, but I didn’t. I knew him for only a couple weeks and we really talked about nothing. He was arrogant and an ass. I could find someone better. I could go to the gay bar Takao always talked about.

I started to walk faster, my pace suddenly increasing. 

No one could be as witty as Aomine or have that dark blue hair like him. No one had that rich voice and stupid smirk. But I would have to deal with it. He was out of my league in the first place, not to mention he was basically a millionaire and the heir to the hugest chain of hospitals in the country. He was too good to be true, and frankly, it hurt to see how inferior I was to him. 

I stopped walking, my breath materializing into puffs in front of me. I looked up at the gray clouds, wishing he had chased after me. 

I had been rejected.

I ignored the looks of everyone around me and willed myself not to cry. I wasn’t a high school kid anymore. I wasn’t going to experience heartbreak. I was going to be stronger. Guarded.

I told Aomine not to come anymore and I thanked my self. I didn’t know if I had it in me to see him. And he didn’t have the balls, I’m sure, to come see me. Well, fine.

I was better off where I had been in the first place.

\------------------------------

“Aomine-kun hasn’t been around, has he?”

I didn’t reply. 

Kuroko took one glance at my face and I knew that he understood. Kuroko had the ability to do that: read people’s hearts. It was annoying sometimes, but he knew when to talk about it and when to not. For once, I was grateful for his silence.

It was the day of Christmas Eve. People still came in to order festive things like peppermint mochas and candy cane hot chocolates. Tomorrow, though, I was off of work. Christmas day people stay home with loved ones and don’t bother to get coffee or read. 

I looked at the lit up lights in front of the store and closed my eyes for a second, imagining what it would feel like to have someone _home_ for the holidays. Now that finals were over, I had nothing to do. I don’t need to study, I don’t have work, all my friends are with family. 

Since I had no one waiting for me, I said I’d take Tatsuya’s shift tonight. He seemed to appreciate it. He had gotten a boyfriend of six months now, Murasakibara Atsushi, who works with him at night.

“Kagami-kun, would you like me to stay?” Kuroko asked quietly. It was already 7pm and I felt bad for making Kuroko stay as long as he had.

I shook my head and smiled at him, “Nah, I’m fine. Won’t be too busy.”

“But isn’t Murasakibara-kun off with Himuro-kun?” 

“Yeah, but I got it.”

Kuroko observed me for another second before he released a small sigh. “Okay, Kagami-kun. Please lock up properly and have a good Christmas.”

“You too.”

The blue-haired boy hung up his apron and proceeded to clean up his area. I watched, my eyes following his movements slowly. He left and once again, the bells jingled.

I was alone. Not a single soul sat in the book corner or at the stool. 

Tiger used to play soft music, but when it became half a bookstore, the music no longer played so that it wouldn’t bother the readers. Since I was alone, I went to the back and put a CD that I had recorded a long time ago full of soft heartbreak songs. They were in English because I had fallen in love with their music back in America when I had visited my parents.

Sam Smith’s “Make it to Me” came on and I went back to the front counter.

I sat on the counter, listening and humming along. Against my better instincts, I started to crave a hot chocolate.

I slowly got up and made it, mixing the cocoa powder and sugar. I poured in hot milk and shook up the whip cream. When I finished, I put the things away only to stare at the drink dejectedly.

I started to sing quietly under my breath, trying to distract my self from the small can of cookie crumbles beside my cup, “ _You’re the one designed for me. A distant stranger that I will complete…_ ”

I closed my eyes and let out a forced breath.

Hesitantly my hands reached for the cookie crumbles and poured them on, my heart aching. It had only been two weeks since I had seen Aomine. What had I turned _into_ , I had to wonder. 

“ _I know you’re out there, we’re meant to be…_ ”

My hands shook. I tried to think of something. What was I going to have for dinner tonight? Breakfast tomorrow morning? Would mom call me tonight? 

“ _So keep your head up… and make it to me._ ”

A quiet sob escaped from my soul when I felt the familiar taste of warm hot chocolate hit my tongue.

What was I doing to myself? What had _he_ done to me?

“ _Make it to me…_ ”

\------------------------------

_In an empty apartment, a red haired man sat against the feet of his couch. Papers littered the floor from past exams and textbooks. The area in front of him would have been clean save the various cans of beer._

_His cellphone sat on the couch, untouched since the man’s mother had called an hour ago. The lights in the house were dimmed and the sky was dark outside._

_Despite the cold brisk air outside, the man could still hear Christmas carols. He heard the laughs of his apartment neighbors and he wished that he had someone with him he could laugh with. That’s what he had hoped the alcohol would help him do: laugh._

_Already 24 and he was still alone._

_As the man looked out the window from his seat on the floor, he took note of the small flakes of snow. It looked serene. He felt like he was in a movie._

_All of a sudden, his phone started to jingle; playing an old tune he had set a year ago. The small screen lit up and it read, “Takao.”_

_In a drunken stupor, the man picked it up._

_“Hello?”_

_“Kagami? Just calling to see how you were doing!”_

_“I’m good, thanks.”_

_The man could’ve sworn he felt Takao frowning on the other side. “What’s wrong? Ouch Shin-chan, I’m asking right now! Are you okay, Kagami?”_

_“Midorima’s there?”_

_“Yeah. He’s worried.”_

_“Tell ‘im I’m fine.”_

_“…You sound drunk?”_

_The man rolled his eyes, “I’m fine. Seriously, just a few drinks. Go enjoy your Christmas, Takao.”_

_“Okay…” the man heard a sigh, “Don’t drive. Be careful, don’t drink too much, ‘kay?”_

_The man grumbled, “Yeah, yeah.”_

_And the line was dead. The man threw the phone back onto the couch and slumped back down. How different would it be if he had someone there with him? How different would this evening be?_

_Maybe he should call him, the man of all his troubles._

_Yes, that was what he wanted to do, the man decided. He took another swig from a beer can and grabbed his phone once more. His eyes blurred frequently, but he was able to find the contacts section of his phone._

_What was the guy’s name? Aomine... Aomine Daiki._

_The man quickly scrolled past the #s in his phone and approached the A’s. His head started to ache once he finished the A’s and scrolled to the B’s. Back and forth, he brought his eyes from the beginning of the A names to the beginning of the B names. Where was he? Where was Aomine? And then his head started to clear._

_He never got his number._

_Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was the snowflakes. Maybe it was the laughing of his neighbors. But whatever it was, he denied any fact that he would cry under other circumstances. It was a one-night thing only, the man thought to himself._

_So he let the tears stream down his face and the hiccups escape from his throat._

_Tonight only._

\------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you guys ready to murder me yet? 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! As always, please leave a comment, I love to reply. The next one won't be out for a while because I have some things to tweak! 
> 
> Brie


	5. His Job

\------------------------------

“Mocha Frappuccino, please.”

I nodded and handed the cup to Kuroko. “That’ll be $3.50.”

People were starting to buy colder and colder drinks now that it was approaching April. It had been months since Christmas and… Aomine. It took a while to get him off my mind, but now I’m fine. He never showed his face at Tiger again and I’m strangely okay with that. I knew in the first place that he wouldn’t have the balls to show up. He was like a dream, and I could forget him just as easily.

“Kagami!” Takao exclaimed as he opened the door with Midorima in tow. “Long time no see!”

I smiled at the chipper raven-haired boy as he took a seat at the counter. 

“Want anything, Midorima?” I asked. 

Takao pouted, “Hey, don’t ignore me!”

I mockingly growled, “You’re the one who has millions of debt in the form of drinks.”

Takao harrumphed and out of the corner of my eye I saw the corner of Midorima’s lip twitch up. Since Aomine, I started to be more observant. I noticed things I didn’t pay attention to before. Really, as much as I had to admit it, I probably became more observant because I didn’t want to read any signs wrong - as I had done with Aomine. I sighed.

Midorima looked at me alarmed. “Are you hurt?”

I blinked and shook my head. Midorima was sometimes a worrywart, though he always denied the sentiment. Takao called him “tsundere.” 

“No, I’m fine, just a long shift today,” I replied. 

“Well, take care of yourself. Classes this semester have gotten harder.”

As if reminded of something, Takao perked up, “Oh, that reminds me! Takahashi-sensei was looking for you, Kagami.”

I cocked my head to the side. “Huh, okay, I’ll see her after class tonight, I guess.”

The two friends started a small argument over something about one of our classes. I watched with a curious fascination. I know they didn’t say anything to me, but I knew they were dating. I hadn’t noticed until after Aomine, but it was definitely there. The Christmas night explained it all, really. I didn’t know when they would decide to tell me, but I would leave it up to them. Their relationship didn’t change our friendship, and for that, I was pretty happy about. They were really the only two friends I could rely on to hang out with. I smiled to myself. It looks like gays attract gays. Well, it was nice to be part of a flock.

“Okay, we gotta go, Kagami. Shin-chan forgot this thing he was gonna deliver. See you tonight!” 

I nodded, “Yeah, have fun.”

“Can do,” Takao winked. They hadn’t ordered anything and rose from their seats to leave. I threw a couple of mints at them and they left bickering about something mundane.

“Takahashi-sensei needs to see you?” Kuroko inquired politely.

“Yeah, wonder what for?”

Kuroko tilted his head as he ground coffee beans. “How have you been doing in that class?”

“…fine, I think?”

“Hm.”

\------------------------------

“Kagami-kun, I understand that this class is difficult. It is difficult for many students, but I’m afraid your grades are much lower than passing.”

I gaped. “B-but, I’ve been doing pretty decently…”

Takahashi-sensei looked at me with some pity in her eyes. “Don’t worry, it’s barely reaching April. Are you okay with a tutor?”

I winced. Honestly, I had considered getting a tutor, but I felt stupid asking for one. I was a 24-year-old man who shouldn’t be struggling in physics. I bit my lip. But if I was going to _fail_ then I’d have to swallow my pride. Goddammit.

“Yes,” I finally sighed. “But sensei…”

“Yes?”

“Can he or she be older than me…?”

Takahashi-sensei laughed and she looked at me, her eyes sparkling. “Of course.” As I bowed my head and thanked her, she murmured, “You boys and your pride. I’ll figure out a student and I’ll introduce you by next week, okay?”

“Yes, thank you.”

I walked out the door of the building and leaned against a bike rail. I would have asked Midorima for help, but I bothered him too much as it was, and plus, he was in a relationship with Takao now. I felt kind of bad for intruding. Who knew I was doing so badly? I mean, it had been relatively hard to study…but I was never good at studying in the first place. I ran my fingers through my hair, frustrated. This was all Aomine’s fault, I was sure. 

Now my dejection was filled with frustrated anger, which I knew was irrational, but I couldn’t help it.

If that guy hadn’t decided to sit at the counter that one day… or ordered his stupid hot chocolate…or invited me out to lunch, I probably wouldn’t be in this situation.

I stood up straight and started to walk to my car. This sucked. I hoped in the back of my head that my tutor would be a kind, understanding man. Like Kiyoshi, my high school senpai. It wouldn’t hurt if he was attractive either.

I hopped into my car and made my way home, wondering who my tutor would be.

The next day, I hadn't expect anything. I hadn't expect to be hit all over again, hit so badly I’d be back into the mess I was before. But it happened.

“This is your new tutor. His name is Aomine Daiki, and he was a wonderful student of mine. I’m sure you’d have no trouble if he was your tutor.”

I was stunned. In front of me stood the man I hadn’t seen in months. Of all people… He looked as good as ever. His hair was disheveled as usual and he wore a casual gray v-neck with black jeans. He was avoiding eye contact with me, which I had to force myself not to feel hurt about. 

I breathed, “Wait, sensei, I can’t-“ 

All of a sudden, Aomine smiled gently at Takahashi-sensei and said, “Excuse us, for a moment. We’d like to see if we could get along, first.” 

Sensei nodded, staring at paperwork. “Come back in ten minutes so I can finalize, okay?”

Aomine walked out of her office quickly and I followed behind, meek and still surprised. He whirled around at me when we were out of ear-shot. 

He almost snarled, “You’re _failing_?”

I stepped back defensively, confused at his tone. “What the hell, who says you’re in control of my life? I can fail if I want to!” Aomine brought his fingers up to his temple and rubbed them agitatedly. I felt anger shoot through my body, “Don’t act like this isn’t your fucking fault!” I blurted out.

He looked up in surprise and at seeing my expression, his seemed to soften. 

“I’m tutoring you, and you’re going to pass.”

My jaw dropped in surprise. “Hell no! I’m asking her for a different tutor.”

Aomine’s angry expression returned and he pushed me up against the wall. “She’s worried about your grade, you idiot. I am going to tutor you and _you are going to pass_. Don’t even think about backing out.”

I pushed him away and brought my curled my fingers into a fist. The urge to punch him was overwhelming. Who did he think he was, to come and demand I do things? Who did he think he was, after that embarrassing rejection? 

_Who the fuck did he think he was?_

“Fine,” I bit back. I would let him tutor me. I wasn’t going to let him get to me, I knew he was provoking me. I growled at him, “We’ll tutor at Tiger at 5pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

He nodded, his face stony. 

We walked back into the office in silence, which Takahashi-sensei didn’t seem to notice.

“Then we’re all set?” she asked.

I nodded. Aomine said, “We’re fine, and we have dates set. I have to get back to class.”

Sensei shooed the boy away and when Aomine was gone, she looked at me observantly. When she noticed how peeved I was, she said softly, “He’s a good kid. He’s actually a student professor for two night classes here.”

I looked up at her in surprise. 

“But he’s barely my age!” I exclaimed.

She nodded, “He’s very smart, despite how arrogant he seems. He volunteered when I asked the staff for a tutor.” I was taken aback. He volunteered? Aomine Daiki, the man who rejected me… volunteered.

What the hell was going on?

“Make sure you study hard! Aomine-kun is a wonderful tutor.”

I nodded and she handed me a card with Aomine’s contact information. I looked at his cellphone number as I walked out of her office and out of the building. Before today, I had wanted to get his cellphone number by asking Aomine myself.

I laughed at the irony.

Of course, I would get his number through some other source. And of course he would end up being my tutor. I crinkled the small card into a ball and started to aim for a trash bin. But something inside me stopped. As if my brain had said something else, my hand stuffed the paper into my jean pocket.

My brain made excuses. Maybe you’ll need to call him. Maybe you won’t understand something. Maybe he will come late and you’ll have to make sure he’s coming at all.

Maybe…you’ll become friends again. 

I frowned. I hated this wishy-washy part of me. I didn’t _want_ to be friends with him. I didn’t _want_ him to be in my life anymore. He had only been in it for two months max and he had already ruined me.

Goddammit, fate was cruel.

\------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa, who knew Aomine would be back in the game so soon? I'm sorry for such a short update! (つд｀)
> 
> Comments are appreciated~! And feel free to yell at me about how short these chapters are, haha... 
> 
> Brie


	6. His Return

\------------------------------

“You’re serious?” Takao tried to confirm.

I nodded gravely. Takao and Midorima were sitting in their usual spots and were looking at me with eyes full of pity. Couldn’t blame them.

Takao shook his head, “This is so sad, I can’t even laugh.” Midorima hit him softly against the head and muttered, “You shouldn’t be laughing in the first place.”

Takao smiled at his partner and replied, “Hey, _someone’s_ gotta be optimistic around here.”

“More idiotic than optimistic,” Midorima said under his breath and I laughed. 

“So, when’s he coming today?” 

“When my shift ends, around 5. I don’t have classes Tuesday and Thursday till late, so it works out. But I am not looking forward to this. I’d rather go back to Kobayashi’s calculus.”

Takao shuddered at the thought.

“Just pay attention and the hour and a half will go by quickly,” Midorima advised, taking a sip of his chamomile tea. His eyes were telling me to, basically, not be an asshole. That was going to be a hard task, seeing as how my … rejector was tutoring me. I couldn’t even say “ _ex_ ” because nothing ever happened between us, and that was sad as hell.

I slumped my shoulders and rolled my eyes, “Easy to say, hard to do.” 

Takao made a pouty face at me. “It’s okay, Kagami! It’ll be till the end of the semester, only two months!” 

I groaned. Two months was how long I knew the guy, for fuck’s sake! This was going to be torture and I knew it. I was going to have to sit for three hours a week in front of the hottest guy who essentially said “no” to my asking him out. Does anyone else have to deal with that?

“Alright, shift’s almost over. I better go get ready,” I said dejectedly.

Takao took a deep breath and dramatically put his hands on my shoulders. I looked at him confused as he stared me down. 

“Can’t give in. I will send you my powers, and you won’t give in-“

“Takao,” Midorima grunted as he tried to pry the littler man from my shoulders, “Takao!”

“-You will ace physics and you will not give in to the temptation. I will _pray_ for you! You will feel my powers, Kagami! _Praying_ right now-“

Takao’s grip was loosening and I was holding back from laughing at everything that was happening right now. Obviously, Takao was trying to de-stress me while Midorima was trying to de-Takao me. 

Honestly, where would I be without these two, I wondered.

Takao finally let go and was dragged away with Midorima who was muttering under his breath about “annoying” and “crazy.” 

I finally let out a laugh and Takao waved to me as he was pushed through the doors. “See you tomorrow, Kagami! _Praying!_ ”

Once they were gone, I felt myself shift back into the fidgety annoyed mood. I took of my apron and cracked my neck.

“That’s gross, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko said, “Please refrain from doing that.”

I sighed, “Sorry, Kuroko. When I get nervous, I cramp up.”

He looked at me warily and said in a soft voice, “There is nothing to be nervous about. You will do fine, I have heard a lot about Aomine-kun.”

My eyes narrowed, though I felt more curious than betrayed. “Heard about him?”

“Yes, he tutors a lot of kids. And he was actually a substitute professor for a week last semester. I think you were sick.”

My eyes widened in disbelief.

“You could have told me you knew!”

“Would it have served any purpose?”

I sighed. I’ve been doing that a lot these past few days. “No, I guess not.”

Kuroko gave me a small reassuring smile. “Really, Kagami-kun. You will be fine.”

“Thanks.”

“Of course.”

And with that Kuroko returned to the back and I hung up my apron. Just as I finished tidying up for my shift, I heard the bells jingle and I didn’t have to look up to feel tension suddenly fill the air.

Aomine.

\------------------------------

“You can sit at the table. I’ll be there in a second,” I said, trying to keep my voice neutral. I didn’t look at him directly but saw out of the corner of my eye that he nodded. He made his way to the table and I went to the back lockers to grab my books.

When I returned, Aomine was lounging on his side of the table with a notebook and a couple of pens. I dropped the physics textbook onto the table and it landed with a “thump.” Aomine didn’t so much as flinch. When I took my seat he looked at me dead on, and I returned his gaze. I tried not to think about how deep his eyes were.

“Okay, what unit are you on?”

I pulled out my binder and opened it up to my current notes.

I heard Aomine let out a, “huh.”

I frowned and looked back up at him. “What?”

He said, “You’re pretty organized.” I felt a blush crawl up my cheeks and I willed it down. No way in hell was I going through this again.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I snapped.

He shook his head, “Nothing at all. Just observing.”

I snarled under my breath and threw the binder across to his side. He took it up with ease and read over the notes. He flipped a couple pages back and then wrote down some notes in his own notebook. I watched nervously, chewing my lip softly. To pass the awkward time, I looked outside the window and at Kuroko who was waiting for Tatsuya to show up. 

Just as I heard the bells jingle again, Aomine put the binder back on my side of the table. My mood instantly brightened when I saw Tatsuya walk into the building.

I didn’t notice as Aomine watched me. I waved at Tatsuya and he smiled back and decided to walk over. 

“Hey, Taiga. Who’s this?”

I replied, my voice a little more chipper than before, “My tutor. Where’s Murasakibara?” 

“He’s on his way. Apparently took a nap and slept through the six alarms I set him,” Tatsuya chuckled. We said some small talk before I told him to go take over for Kuroko. He light-heartedly agreed and he ruffled my hair before walking behind the counter to grab an apron.

I returned my attention to Aomine who looked bored, yet observant. 

“Sorry,” I grumbled, my mood immediately souring. “I don’t see him too often.”

“Hm,” Aomine replied. He grabbed the textbook and read the table of contents before turning the page. “Anything you don’t understand this unit?”

I thought about snapping back that I wasn’t stupid, but I realized how childish that would’ve been. He was here for my sake and I really didn’t want to be an asshole.

“Kinda. We went over this last class, but I…” I trailed off; trying to think of the excuse I had for not paying attention. 

“Fell asleep?” he finished for me. I nodded, ashamed. He looked at me with a glint in his eyes. “You should be getting more sleep. Night classes are hard to keep up with.”

Ashamed that he was giving me advice, something inside me broke down. “I don’t need to follow your fucking advice.”

He looked up at me, surprised, and I instantly regretted the words. It wasn’t his fault. He was looking out for me. He volunteered to help me pass. I hung my head low and cursed myself out. What the hell was I doing? Was I so bitter? He hadn’t even done anything to me at all. Everyone has a right to say no, and I was just…hurt. I still was, and I hated to admit it. I closed my eyes tightly. I hated the fact that he sounded like he still cared. He was the one who didn’t want that relationship (though I should have understood instead of drowning in alcohol) and yet here he was, butting into my life all over again. Who gave him the right to give me more hope?

“Sorry,” I grumbled.

Aomine sighed and I flinched at the sound. “Kagami. This will be purely professional, and I need you to stop being such an idiot who fights at everything I say.”

I grit my teeth. 

“Look at me,” he commanded. 

I swallowed and looked at him. His eyes were dark and my gaze wavered. “What?” I asked, peeved.

“You only have to deal with this for another two months. Can you handle it or are you too much of a pussy?”

I snapped, “’Course I can! I’m not a kid!”

“You act like one.”

I balled up my fists and let out hot air. “Just… get back to tutoring, asshat.”

He nodded briskly and proceeded to explain a website that has excellent summaries of the textbook. He also said he would email me good crash course videos and will work help on the math parts by bringing in sample problems. I begrudgingly wrote down my email and he tucked the paper away into his back jean pocket. He ran his fingers through his hair and opened my binder again to re-explain the lesson I had just learned. 

Before I knew it, it was already time. 

He had stood up and started packing his things when I had glanced at the clock. It was 6:30 already?

“Thursday, same time?” he asked when he had all his material together. 

I nodded and watched him start to leave the table. But then he stopped and looked at me. I was still sitting at my seat nonchalantly. 

“Next time, don’t be such an ass,” he said, his voice light.

I growled, “You know what, for you, I _will_.” 

He shook his head and I thought I heard him chuckle, but it must have been my imagination, because he was already gone by the time I broke out of my stupor.

I sat at the table a while longer and I saw Tatsuya plop down a small coffee. I thanked him and he smiled before he returned to work. I took a sip and stared at the empty seat in front of me.

Holy shit.

I actually learned something. I frowned and digested the last hour and a half. We effectively went through the whole lesson and I learned that he really does go all out to prepare me for this crap. I leaned my elbows onto the table and dug my fingers into my scalp. I realized that sometimes I really am as stubborn as people say. He actually helped me a _shit_ load. He was really concise and talked so … professionally, I guess, that I completely forgot that he had cast me aside. I even learned stuff, and fuck, it felt good. 

Dammit, I was really looking forward to the next lesson.

Dammit, I was so fucked.

\------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohoho, who doesn't love tutor!Aomine? Did ya see how STRICT he was with Kagami? Unf. I feel sexual tension. Or maybe it's my imagination? After all, he rejected Kagami!
> 
> Comments are loved~
> 
> Brie


	7. His Friend

\------------------------------

It was Thursday already. I shifted anxiously. I had debated getting off my shift 10 minutes earlier than usual to prepare myself for the onslaught that was Aomine, but a customer came in last minute.

I almost dropped the cup I was holding.

He was blond and tall. He was little lanky, but his feminine features made him incredibly attractive. When he walked in, my heart almost stopped. He was fucking gorgeous.

“Hi,” he said, his voice happy and silky, “I’d just like an ice water, please.” 

I nodded, too dumbstruck to even talk. I felt myself turn red as he watched me fill up a cup with ice and water. 

“H-here you go,” I stuttered. He gave me a smile that must have made girls faint and I tentatively smiled back. He took a seat at a small two-seater table and looked out the window. He occasionally glanced at me, but I pretended not to notice.

I looked at the clock and cursed. Ugh, of course, I would have to be tutored in front of such a hot guy. How embarrassing. I took off my apron and told Kuroko that Tatsuya was going to be a bit late today. The small man nodded and thanked me and I went to the back to get prepared for my tutor.

I grabbed my physics book and my binder before I tucked myself into the same table we sat at on Tuesday. It happened to be the table right next to the blond and I tried to avoid eye contact.

I didn’t even notice when Aomine dropped into the seat across from me.

“Yo,” he greeted. I felt myself twitch at the familiar greeting. Before I could reply, I heard a sing-songy voice beside my ear.

“Aominecchi! I didn’t know you tutored here!” 

I looked and saw Aomine was scowling. He brought his hand up to shoo away at the blond in an annoyed manner. “Go away, Kise.”

Kise pouted and I looked at the blond who was incredibly close to me. His nose was beautifully arched and his eyes were gold. He seemed to notice me staring and he bore his eyes into mine, a small smirk gracing his features.

“Aominecchi, you’re tutoring such a hottie!” Kise said, winking at me. 

I felt the blush rise up my cheeks and onto my ears.

Aomine groaned, “Just leave, Kise.”

“No, no, let me sit with you! I won’t bother you or anything! Do you mind, uh…”

“Kagami,” Aomine answered, dryly. Kise brightened.

“Kagamicchi, do you mind?”

I shook my head nervously and looked down. I should have said no, but his irresistible smile made me change my mind. He was so fucking cute how was I going to say no? But how was I going to pay attention at _all_ when he was here? And was that a _nickname_?

“Fine,” Aomine huffed and he pulled out a notebook and ripped out a page. On it had information from various websites scrawled in messy, yet legible handwriting. “These will help a lot, especially for the final.”

I nodded and tucked the paper into my binder. 

“Oh, Aominecchi, as prepared as usual, huh? Kagamicchi, he looks like a delinquent, but he’s actually a really good tutor!”

I rolled my eyes, “And an asshole.”

Kise’s eyebrow rose slightly and I heard Aomine shuffle.

“You shouldn’t be talking,” Aomine shot back, “You’re like a kid!”

“Shut up!” I said, my face hot. “I’m not the one who wet his bed until he was 10!”

“You did _not_ just say th-“

“Aominecchi, for _real_?!”

“Shut up, Kise!”

“He really did. Told me himself,” I snorted. 

Aomine glared at me, “You fucker…”

I smiled back innocently. Payback, maybe? During the two days since Aomine’s first tutor session, I rethought my life. Well, actually, it was more like I ate vanilla ice cream every three hours between my Naruto marathon while thinking about the rejection.

I totally confessed out of the blue. Two months of knowing him was probably too short of an amount of time. Also, I didn’t even know if he was _gay_. Plus… I was the one who pushed him away without an explanation. My shitty attitude was my fault and my fault alone. But, of course, that didn’t mean I couldn’t make the guy’s life a little harder. I had rights to some things, right?

“Fine, you can stay, but you better shut up,” Aomine grumbled. The blond did a small victory dance and grabbed a chair to put beside me.

“Okay, I pinky promise!” Kise exclaimed and he grabbed my hand and brought it closer to him.

I looked at his golden eyes, unable to tear my gaze away. He wrapped his pinky around mine and smiled. It was dazzling. Too dazzling.

I coughed and ripped my hand away. I felt the blush creep back onto my face. I turned away to look at Aomine’s reaction. I expected maybe a scowl of annoyance or expression of jealousy. Or more like I _hoped_ for a scowl of annoyance or expression of jealousy.

All I got were dark eyes and thinly pressed lips that expressed no emotion whatsoever.

\------------------------------

Kise became a regular at Tiger. He came early, usually at 11 in the morning. He always came at 5pm on the days Aomine tutored me. He said that it was nice to hang out with two of his friends (as to how I officially became his friend, I don’t know). Aomine didn’t seem to mind because Kise was quiet. Kise even sometimes threw in acronyms and small tips to help me memorize things.

I was only a little bothered that Aomine didn’t care.

But it was past me. I tried to pay attention to physics. It’s been three weeks into the tutoring sessions, and color me surprised, because I have been getting A’s on the last few exams. Aomine replied with, “See, you aren’t as stupid as I thought.” Kise just happily smiled and said, “I’m not that surprised!”

“Ne, Kagamicchi, do you want to hang out sometime?” Kise asked during a break that I claimed I needed halfway through Aomine’s tutoring.

My eyes flickered quickly to Aomine’s face before returning to Kise’s. Aomine hadn’t done a thing in response to the proposal.

“Mmm, maybe. I still work every day at Tiger, so it’s kind of hard to take time off.”

Kise pouted and shrugged. “Can’t be helped! And ah, actually, I won’t be here next week. Don’t miss me too much, okay? I’m going to leave now to pack.”

I blinked at the sudden flood of information.

“A-ah okay, see you next week?” I said, my thoughts in a daze. Kise beamed at me and pecked my cheek quickly.

I brought my fingers to my cheek and gave him a questioning look as he walked out of the coffee shop. Before he went through the doors he waved and said, “It’s an American greeting, isn’t it?”

I nodded stiffly and the blond was gone. I stared at the bells that clamored against each other on the door and finally directed my attention at Aomine who was on his phone. He seemed to be texting someone.

“You done?” I asked when he put his phone down. 

Aomine took out a piece of gum from the bag he had brought and chewed it before replying, “Yeah.”

“Okay.”

There was an awkward silence and I stared at Aomine, waiting for him to start from where he left off. Instead, he looked out the window, chewing thoughtfully. “You gonna get together with him?”

I snapped my head up to look at Aomine. Did he really just ask that?

“Why do you care?” I asked, my words carefully neutral.

He shrugged. I frowned at him. He opened his mouth, before closing it shut.

I balled my hands into fists, “If you’ve got something to say, say it.”

“He’s a good guy,” Aomine said. I felt my face falter. He continued on, “But he’s really… fickle or shit like that. Just warning you.”

I felt emotions well up inside of me. What was I supposed to feel? I hated myself and the self-loathing was killing me. I actually wanted him to feel jealous, even though I knew he never really gave a shit. It was obvious from the start when he didn’t mind Kise hanging around. The uglier part of me reared its head and I blurted out things without thinking.

“First of all, don’t act like you know everything. What if he’s perfect? Don’t get around saying shit!” 

Aomine continued to chew his gum and he watched me, his dark eyes analyzed me. 

“Maybe I will go out with him! Fuck you, Aomine. You’re a pretentious son of a bitch.”

He continued to look at me and I couldn’t take it. 

I couldn’t take the way his face was still expressionless. I couldn’t take the fact that I blow up at every little thing. I couldn’t take it that Kise liked me better than Aomine liked me. 

“Are you done?” he asked me, his voice cold.

I grit my teeth. Dammit to all fucking hell. He knew it was an outburst and he wasn’t holding me to my words. He didn’t think I meant anything I said. I let out a loud breath. I reminded myself that Aomine was tutoring me and that we were going to be tutoring without Kise next week. I didn’t want to fuck things up.

I inhaled deeply and nodded.

“Yeah, ‘m done,” I said. But my glare didn’t falter. 

I’d prove him wrong.

\------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EEEEEEEEK.
> 
> Hello there, Kise. Okay, who's ready to kill me?
> 
> Brie


	8. His Surprise

\------------------------------

“You know what, Kagami, I think it’s high time you get over that Aomine dude,” Takao pursed his lips. His eyes held a seriousness that was normally hidden.

“I _am_ over him.” 

Midorima let out a quiet, disbelieving snort. He gave me a skeptical look and I almost threatened him by taking away his tea. 

“Kise sounds absolutely amazing,” Takao swooned, “When are we going to meet him?” I don’t know if Takao noticed, but Midorima was looking at Takao with hardened eyes. That was a problem they’d have to figure out themselves. Takao wasn’t necessarily a cheater, but he made his preferences clear and was pretty flirty. Eye candy was his favorite and it was apparent that Midorima was displeased with that.

“I don’t know, he’s somewhere right now.”

“Are you going to go out with him?” Takao asked.

“Funny, Aomine asked the same thing.”

Takao suddenly stood from his seat and forced his palms onto the counter. “He _did_?”

I nodded and watched as Takao sat back down onto his seat, looking dejected. I wondered why, but decided not to ask. Sometimes the little man was a mystery. He always seemed to be hatching some kind of devious plan behind his twirly, happy demeanor.

Takao shrugged, “Well, looks like you’ll have to figure it out, huh?” 

Takao suddenly looked at the counter for a second before sending a shifty glance to Midorima. Midorima nodded. I looked at them curiously. They seemed a little nervous.

“Kagami,” Midorima said, sounding formal. “Takao and I…” He sounded like he was struggling not to stutter and I had a feeling I knew where this conversation was going.  
“We’re dating,” Takao finished.

Midorima burst into color and he pushed up his glasses in only the way he could. He fidgeted in his seat and his eyes avoided mine, but I knew he was gauging my reaction. Takao, however, was looking at me with his silvery blue eyes full of hope and enthusiasm.

I sighed. “I knew that already.”

“Eh?” 

“Excuse me?” 

“You guys are pretty obvious. I don’t know why you hid it, I’m gay too…” I said. I felt a little disheartened that they hadn’t told me since day one, but I had no right in their business. They told me when they felt it was right. Midorima seemed to notice my thoughts and he pushed his glasses up further.

“We didn’t want to make you uncomfortable,” he said. 

Takao seemed to catch his boyfriend’s drift and he also threw in, “If we didn’t work out, we didn’t want you to be bothered by it. So…we wanted to tell you when we were certain it would be okay between us.”

I looked away and I felt my face blossoming into a smile. These fucking dorks. Takao and Midorima beamed at me in their own fashions and I couldn’t help but close my eyes, to let the feeling of being cared about, caress me. I finally looked at them straight in the eyes, and as sincerely as I had ever felt in a while, I said, “Congrats.”

Takao sent a small punch to my shoulder and he chirped, “Thanks, Kagami!” Midorima sent me a soft look that was his own thank you. 

Where would I be without these two?

\------------------------------

“And what about theta?”

“…What _about_ theta?” I grumbled. 

Aomine let out a small sigh and with the most patient voice he could muster (I could tell) he explained to me the problem all over again. At the end of his lecture, I brought my hands to my face. 

“Physics is shit,” I cursed. He rolled his eyes and picked up the pen to twirl it between his fingers. He did that from day one, maybe as force of habit. His fingers were really slender and I couldn’t help but stare. When I realized that _he_ realized I was staring, I quickly looked down and cursed out physics for a while longer.

“Back to the problem,” Aomine commanded. “You can’t slack off. These are important on the final.”

I groaned and continued where I left off. 

After about 15 minutes of practice problems, I slammed down my pencil. I called break and he nodded. I stood up to make myself a cup of coffee, but I came to the realization that it was fucking rude to ignore Aomine.

With hesitation, I asked, “Want anything?”

He looked at me, his dark blue eyes piercing me. I had expected him to say hot chocolate, but instead, he requested a glass of water. The thought that I hadn’t made him anything since before I asked him out, saddened me. I didn’t know what kind of drinks he drank in the summer or if tea affected him like coffee would. They both had caffeine, after all. I brooded as I went behind the counter to fetch our drinks.

I didn’t notice as he watched me.

When I came back to the table, he mumbled a quiet, “thanks” and took a loud gulp from his cup. 

“You don’t drink hot chocolate in the summer?” I asked lightly. 

He replied quickly, “What gave you the impression that I don’t?”

I opened my mouth to say something, but shut it quickly. Then… why hadn’t he asked for one? I felt a bizarre feeling. It was almost like…I was hurt? But that couldn’t be. I was over him and that had been that. But I felt the feeling bubble up inside me and it ate at me like acid.

“Sorry if my hot chocolate tastes like shit,” I hissed.

Aomine frowned, but before he could ask what I meant and why I mentioned hot chocolate, I continued on. What the hell was wrong with me? Was it because Kise wasn’t here to defuse this awkward tension we felt around each other? Was it because he didn’t ask for a hot chocolate? Was it because I hadn’t finished that stupid Naruto episode the other night?

“If you hate the thought of me, why’d you decide to tutor me? You could have just-“

“What are you talking about? Why would I-“

“ _Shut up_ , look, thanks and all that shit for tutoring me. You’re a goddamn saint,” I said, my voice bordering shrill. “But you and your fucking hot chocolate-”

“Kagami.”

“-You don’t care about anyone but yourself and you are honestly the shittiest person I have ever met-“

I knew that my voice was getting louder and louder. I knew that people were starting to stare and that Aomine was giving me an exasperated look. I knew that Tatsuya was behind the corner sending me a signal to shut up. I knew all of it, but something inside me had just… released. I couldn’t stop it, no matter what I did.

“ _Kagami._ People are looking, idiot, why don’t you shut u-”

“I don’t see the reason why I ever thought I would want get with you! I was stupid because now I realize that you are a narcissistic bastard who doesn’t give a _fuck_ about me-“

I was cut off.

Momentarily dazed and filled with anger, I was slow to realize things as they happened. A tanned hand reached out to grab my collar from across the table. I was thrusted forward and I let out a yelp. 

I felt warmth.

Lips were on my lips and my eyes were in direct confrontation with a pair of dark blue orbs. What was happening? Where was I? Who was this?

_What the fuck was happening?_

Lips were on my lips.

Dark blue eyes were the only things I could see.

_He was kissing me._

\------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OHMYGOSH I'M SORRY. I had to leave it at a cliffhanger or else the size of the chapters wouldn't be consistent! 
> 
> (I'm just kidding, I just really want you all to be in pain, please don't kill me)
> 
> Brie


	9. His Own Fault

* * *

I remembered my first kiss on the playground in third grade. Some guy was messing with me for my red hair and I got angry. We fought and he pushed me down. He punched my stomach with those grubby fists of his and then, all of a sudden; he lost his balance and fell, head hitting mine.

It was nothing romantic and _definitely_ nothing to brag about. It was shitty, to say the least.

But it was basically a foreshadowing to my incoming days of gay, ahead. After that, I kissed some women and men, but I preferred the chapped lips to the ones coated in cherry lip balm. It was strange.

Kisses were strange.

The kiss I was wrapped in, present day had no warmth. There were no fuzzy feelings. Instead, there was something akin to… resentment, reality, and tension. Sexual or not, I had no clue.

But I knew for sure, this kiss would be the death of me; maybe because I wanted to hate him, maybe because I wanted him to love me, maybe because the kiss felt so forced, maybe because I wanted him to have given it to me because he _loved_ me, not because he wanted to shut me up.

Something inside me broke, but for once, I didn’t voice it out when we parted.

Aomine pulled away slowly, his lips, which were not chapped, leaving mine. His dark blue orbs were looking at my red ones, assessing my reaction. I knew he was expecting an outburst and I felt the anger rising inside me, bubbling over.

I said nothing.

He sighed, as if I had disappointed him. He had the nerve to _sigh_. Aomine sat back down on his seat, suddenly continuing with the lesson.

My hands shook with forced effort. Never before had I held myself back this much. But I would do it, so that he wouldn’t get the satisfaction. I would stay quiet, this once, for however long I needed to, because he didn’t deserve the satisfaction.

_Fuck him_.

“ _That’s_ what you do with theta,” he explained meticulously.

I nodded, my eyes empty. I wrote it all down, doing the problems little by little. I still didn’t say a word and I planned not to until I had to.

_Purely professional, my fucking ass._

He noted an error and pointed out, “This is a five, isn’t it?”

I fixed it. He looked at me and I had no doubt that he had some kind of disguised confusion on his face. He brought up his hand to run his fingers through his hair. He tousled it, a little disgruntled and I almost felt some kind of success.

_Serves him right_.

But I bit my lip softly. Although the success felt good, I felt something else inside me. I knew that the silent treatment was much worse than actually screaming and yelling like I was known to do, but I decided with all my heart that Aomine deserved it. I could not feel guilty about it now. He _knew_ that I liked him from the beginning. He _knew_ that I would ask him out. He rejected me. He _knew_ that I still had feelings. He kissed me. He deserved all the hell he could get and I grit my teeth at the little summary of our relationship.

I hated him with everything I had, but I knew that that wasn’t true.

Not yet.

 

* * *

Thursday followed, and it was the same.

“Kagami, are you listening?”

I nodded. I did the problems. The coffee shop was silent besides the brewing of coffee beans. All that could be heard was my pencil scribbling across my notebook and the tapping of Aomine’s pen against the table. Normally, I would hate the silence, but I came to like it. It was better than having to fight against myself to get Aomine’s attention.

With every passing day, I could feel my dislike growing stronger.

He’s arrogant. He always has a frown on his face, otherwise, a stupid smirk. He acts as if he knew everything in the world. He’s blunt. He’s insensitive.

I finished the problem and he looked at it, nodding. The surprise was evident on his face.

He did an _almost_ smile and looked at me, approval coating his features. “Nothing wrong. Did you pay attention in class today, for once?”

I looked away from him and nodded.

The frown was back on his face. I waited for him to give the next problem, but he sighed and he started to pack his things.

“That’s it for this lesson. Next Tuesday.”

And he was gone.

I tightened my fist and I started to beat myself up. I couldn’t start feeling guilty now. I couldn’t start regretting things now. I chanted to myself: he’s arrogant, he acts as if he knows everything in the world, he’s blunt, he’s insensitive, he’s arrogant-

“Kagami!”

I looked up and Takao’s raven hair came into view along with his piercing blue gray eyes. I almost jumped out of my skin. Midorima appeared soon behind him. Takao pulled up another seat for his boyfriend and they plopped down, Takao holding a cup of joe and Midorima holding his traditional tea.

Midorima asked, “How is tutoring?”

I rolled my eyes, “He’s still as stuck-up as ever.”

“I recall asking about tutoring, not him.”

I cringed. Takao looked at me silently, watching my reaction. He knew something was wrong, but I didn’t want to enlighten them. I was afraid that I if I told them, they would tell me to stop, that I was being a jackass. And I couldn’t let them talk me out of it, because this was for _me_. I was doing it to protect _me_. I didn’t want to pine after some asshole anymore, just because he was my tutor.

“It’s okay. I’m getting better test scores,” I sighed. Midorima nodded approvingly and took a sip from his cup.

I looked over at Takao who was still brooding. He was too silent for my taste. Takao returned my stare, his eyes sending chills down my spine as if he could read my mind.

“How are you guys?” I asked them.

Takao seemed to break out of his thoughtful stage and sent a chipper, “Great! We just ate at this one place! It had some really weird food, though, but Shin-chan liked it-“

Takao continued to ramble on as usual and I felt comfortable again. I laughed a couple times, his story sounding exactly like the two of them.

I thought I felt someone watching us through the window, but when I checked, no one was there.

“What’s wrong?” Takao asked. He glanced out the window only to throw me a curious stare.

I frowned, “Nothing. Just had a weird feeling.”

 

* * *

“Kagamicchi, I’m back!” I heard a happy voice call on a bright Monday morning. The sun was shining and I grinned, turning around to see Kise waving happily and running through the coffeeshop.

“Hey Kise, how was the trip thing?”

Kise smiled his dazzlingly smile and replied, “Great! It was sunny.”

I laughed and for once, I felt kind of… happy. The first time these whole two weeks since the silent spat with Aomine. Kise sat at the counter and ordered a small sweetened iced tea. I made the mixture and he watched me, a close lipped smile on his face.

“How was your week, Kagamicchi?”

I froze for a second, but returned to normal, sitting his cup of tea in front of him. “It was okay. Didn’t really do anything.”

He pouted and brought the tea to his lips. A devilish smile came on his face and he sent me a somewhat sultry look as he sipped his tea. He brought his tongue to lick at the sweetness the tea left of his lips.

He put the cup down and leaned forward, “Are you dating anyone?”

My eyes widened and I blushed a bright red. I started to stutter.

“U-uh, no, I…”

Kise brightened and he took my hands into his. “Please, please, please come out with me this Saturday?”

I looked at him and gauged that he was actually serious. His golden eyes held nothing but enthusiasm and devotion. Taken over with pressure and admiration, I softly agreed.

He jumped in his seat happily and took another sip from his tea. “Yay, I’m so excited! But you don’t mind if I’m in a disguise, right?”

I cocked my head to the right and asked, “Why would you be?”

“I’m a model, silly!” he said.

I froze once again, caught off guard. I _thought_ I had seen him before. He was definitely attractive enough to be a model and his amiable behavior was certainly cute. I couldn’t believe it, though.

I had attracted Kise Ryouta.

He smiled at me once again and I couldn’t help the heat rising to my cheeks. “Yeah, disguise is okay.”

His golden eyes met my red ones and he nodded, “At the train station at 10 this Saturday?”

“Sounds good.”

He looked at his watch and his mouth made an “O.”

“I have class in twenty, so I have to go. But see you, tomorrow with Aominecchi!” he exclaimed. He stood on his tiptoes to lean over the counter and peck my cheek.

“American greeting,” he clarified again and winked. I watched as he sauntered out and I suddenly felt exhausted.

I have a date with a model this Saturday.

 

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this update took so long! It may be a little longer until my next chapter, but I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Brie


	10. His Evaporation

* * *

 

“Aominecchi, I told you he would agree!”

I sat back in my seat, watching the both of them. I really hadn’t expected Kise to bring up our date, but he threw it in so casually, even I didn’t notice the magnitude of what he said until he was halfway done with his bubbly statement. Although my eyes were on Kise, I couldn’t help but notice Aomine’s expression 

It was a little surprised, but his surprise morphed into stone. He shrugged and said, “Hey, I guess I thought I would finally get to see the damn day Kise gets turned down.”

I froze and my eyes unconsciously landed on Aomine’s eyes. His face was still stony, but it was his words and tone of voice that hit the hardest. He was fucking _disappointed_. He thought that I would be the first to turn down Kise, the model. I was torn, to be honest, and I hated it. My primary instinct was to please Aomine, to say that it wasn’t a _date_ per se, but a harmless friend get-together. But my head was telling me that I was weak and that I shouldn’t fall into Aomine’s pace. 

I won’t, I told myself. _I won’t_.

“You’re so mean!” Kise pouted. “I’ve only asked out, like, three people! And you’ve seen me get turned down.” 

Aomine stayed silent and my curiosity was peaked. Who dared turn down Kise Ryouta?

Kise could somehow sense my train of thought and he trained his golden eyes on me. He said nonchalantly, “I tried asking out Aominecchi once.”

My eyes opened impossibly wide and I almost choked on my own saliva. My mind reeled at millions of words per second. Kise Ryouta is a model. He’s been friends with Kise for a long time. Kise asked out Aomine. Aomine rejected him.

Something inside me was bouncing for joy. That meant Aomine wasn’t interested in Kise in that way (not like I was… nervous about that). But that also meant Aomine didn’t even settle for a model. My mood suddenly plummeted. If he turned down Kise who was beautiful, pretty damn smart, and bubbly, then how could I have had a chance? How could I have been stupid enough to ask Aomine Daiki out?

I felt shame burn throughout my body. He had probably laughed at me internally that day. He probably thought _‘he thinks he has a chance?’_

“Okay, well have fun and shit. We’re doing stuff here, Kise.”

“Right, right! Kagamicchi has a test to ace tomorrow!” 

I sighed and nodded slightly, trying to get back into my zone. It was honestly very difficult. I sat across from a man who rejected me and I found out would never love anyone unless they were Beyoncé (or someone close to her perfection). I sat next to another man who was the epitome of Aphrodite and actually wants to go out with me. My head was spinning in all kinds of directions.

“Okay,” Aomine started back up again. The man trailed on as I struggled to comprehend what he was saying. I tried to keep my eyes glued to the papers but Kise’s gaze was boring into me. When I looked up, I quickly flushed a deep red and the model’s mouth quirked up into a cute smile.

Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad, I thought to myself. Kise seemed sincere and he was actually excited for this date. My mood lightened a bit at the thought.

“Do you get it?”

I looked up at the sound of Aomine’s voice. I nodded, still willing myself to give him the silent treatment. I would have fun on this date and forget about Aomine. After all, a guy deserves _some_ happiness, but that didn’t mean I would stop giving the blue-haired man a hard time. He deserved it for the kiss, and I hold my grudges.

* * *

 

I sat on the small couch and watched as Kise held up a bowling ball. He turned to wink and me and proceeded towards the slippery floor. 

Bowling. I was never too good at it, since my aim was poor. I could dunk decently, _that_ didn’t take effort, but aiming and doing some weird stance was not my forte. Kise, however, seemed to do it flawlessly. His body, slim and long like a gazelle, moved in a smooth, clean way that even I envied.

He hit a strike.

“Wah! I did it!” the blond cried and he turned to gauge my reaction. His sparkling eyes that smiled brightly made me grin.

I snarled jokingly, “It’s rigged.”

Kise pouted and he hopped cheerfully to my side. He plopped down and rolled his eyes. “You’re just upset that you suck!”

“Whatever,” I scoffed in reply. I wasn’t the least bit peeved, though usually when someone uttered something even remotely close to a challenge, I would puff up and fight back. Instead, Kise’s playful teasing made me feel more at ease. “Did you want to do anything after this?”

Kise sat back onto the cushions and thought to himself. While he sat, I pretended to watch a man buy something from a vending machine. My real vision was on Kise. He wasn’t joking about the disguise talk. Although nothing could mask his tall figure or the delicate arch of his nose, he still looked considerably different. He had tied his blond hair with a black hair tie and wore contacts that muddled his golden orbs to a chocolate brown. Large thin frames sat low on his nose and he wore tight khaki pants with a white v-neck topped off with a light red scarf. It was effortless stylish and even though he seemed more low-key than usual, I could feel the “model” oozing out of him.

“Ice cream!” Kise suddenly exclaimed. I had jumped at the sudden outburst but quickly recovered. The now brown eyes looked at me and I swore I could see a dog tail wagging behind him. It was sorta cute. “There’s this awesome ice cream and gelato place not too far from here. Are you okay with it?”

I shrugged and said, “Yeah, it’ll be my treat.”

Kise beamed and he stood up quickly, holding out his hand towards me. I looked at him and thought to myself-

_‘I could fall in love with this guy_.’

-I took his hand.

* * *

 

“Strawberry?” Kise giggled, “That’s so…cute!”

I blushed up to my ears and turned away, a little ashamed. “What the hell do you mean, _cute_? Everyone likes strawberry!” 

“I dunno! The thought was just kinda cute,” Kise tried to explain, “I thought you’d be more hardcore.”

“What’s hardcore? Rocky road?” I grumbled.

He laughed and shrugged. His small pink tongue lapped at his vanilla ice cream and I looked elsewhere, cursing myself. This man was too aesthetically pleasing. Everything he did seemed like it belonged in a movie.

I tried to focus on my own ice cream. The flavor was rich and the texture was smooth and creamy. The ice cream parlor immediately became a hit in my list of dessert shops. They even sold little pastries and I was determined to try them out another time, maybe recommend the place to Takao and Midorima.

As the silence stretched on, my mind started to wander. I briefly wondered as to what flavor Aomine liked best. Before I could stomp on the thoughts, my brain answered the question quickly: chocolate. A velvety chocolate, milky and smooth like his skin and as rich as hot chocolate.

Shit, I fucked up.

“So, Kise… favorite color?” I asked, desperate to forget my thoughts. I felt instantly guilty when the blond perked at the start of a conversation. I should’ve been focusing on my date, not some other asshole.

“Yellow!" 

I smiled. The answer was a little more than expected. “Lemme guess – sunshine and shit?”

He chuckled in reply and bit off a piece of his cone, “How’d you guess?” He looked at me, curiosity in his gaze. “What’s yours?”

“Don’t have one.” 

“Then it’s yellow!” He cocked his head at me and grinned impishly. “I’m going to monopolize all of you, Kagamicchi.” His tone was so nonchalant; it almost masked the words he said. They were deeper than his tone let on and I was a little taken aback. Never before had anyone said _anything_ along those lines to me. I felt flattered and a little bit of something else. I couldn’t put my finger on it.

I didn’t know how to respond and instead smiled at the blond. He was content with the expression and went on heartily eating his frozen dessert. I saw him peeking at me out of the corner of his eye, but chose to ignore it for his sake. I thought it was kind of adorable, like he didn’t want me to know that I caught his attention. 

“By the way! How did you meet Aomine?”

I froze at the name before releasing a sigh. What did I have to fear? I was over the man.

“Came in to Tiger one day. He only came to read, and then…he started to sit at the counter to buy hot chocolate.”

Kise hummed and then after a lick of his vanilla he said, “That’s weird. He never drank hot chocolate. He always had hazelnut coffee.”

I frowned and replied, “No, he said he didn’t drink coffee.” 

“But he did.”

I sat in stunned silence and looked outside of the ice cream parlor’s windows. What the hell was going on? Why was I being so stubborn about it? It seemed as if I wanted to prove that I knew Aomine better. I shrugged casually and Kise let the subject drop. I was grateful; I already had a lot on my mind.

“Do you want to go out next Saturday again? There’s a movie I’ve been wanting to see!”

I gulped down my bitter feeling and decided that maybe hanging out with someone fun and cheery like Kise would be good for me.

“Sure. I wanted to see the one with the robot things-“

“Atlantic Rim?!” Kise screeched. I jumped in surprise, but dissolved into chuckles. 

I nodded and the model across from me shook with enthusiasm. He pushed the rest of his cone into his mouth and started to say how much he wanted to watch the movie, too. I could barely understand a word, but it was nice being able to listen and talk wholeheartedly with someone. Especially someone so radiant, that it seemed nothing would bring them down. 

“Okay, it’s a date! Next Saturday!”

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that this took so long to update! Family issues and school has been holding me back from writing at all! And don't worry, this story will not turn KagaKise. Bear with me! (*´д｀*)
> 
> Brie


	11. His Back

* * *

Kise became the person I wanted to always hang out with. No matter when, no matter where, I was ready to jump on the bandwagon if Kise insisted. He was the fucking sun, always bright and happy. He was a tower, reliable and faithful. He was honestly someone I needed: a person who hung out with me when I was alone, a person who would just laugh and talk, a person who pushed away the worries.

It had been a month since I started dating Kise and it honestly flew by in no time. Kise often asked me to go on dates every other Saturday: movies, lunch, dinner, and amusement park. Sometimes he would just come over to my apartment and watch movies. It was now April and my final for physics was coming up in May.

Only a month left of Aomine tutoring me.

The thing was, tutoring was bearable now. I grew used to responding as little as possible to Aomine and Aomine seemed resigned to my silence. And plus, Kise was now at every session. His quirkiness and comments (which I found very cute) were insightful and amusing. His presence overall made the whole situation seems livelier, especially since Aomine was looking more and more tense by the day.

Aomine one day came in, looking like he was thoroughly chewed out and stressed. His hair was disheveled and the usual scowl was worse. He looked like someone out to murder. I didn’t ask and Aomine didn’t tell. Kise also stayed quiet, though on dates he would sometimes mention Aomine’s state.

Today, he looked no better. He was haggard and bags were under his eyes. He explained the lesson faster and crisper than usual, not bothering to even pay attention to Kise telling him to slow down.

I still stayed silent. I absorbed the lesson and said nothing as Aomine started to pack at the end of it.

“Aominecchi! Kagami and I were going to get lunch. Did you want to come?” Kise asked. He threw me a look, which I gave in to. I had not wanted a lunch with Aomine after he kissed me. Now I didn’t want a lunch with Aomine who seemed like he could shoot someone any second. But I felt bad, so I let Kise invite him as he wanted.

Aomine looked like he contemplated it, but he shook his head. “I’m fine,” his voice was strained and he looked at me briefly before saying, “Make sure you look over the formulas I wrote down. Memorize them, they’ll help.”

I nodded and he grabbed his things and left. I watched as his back retreated, looking smaller and less confident than usual. I started to feel some kind of pain ache inside me. It was apparent he was suffering, but from what? Heartbreak? School? Job? I had no right to know, but a small part of me wanted to know. The other small part of me wanted nothing to do with him.

Kise turned to me and he shrugged, but I could tell from his eyes that he was also worried.

“He hasn’t been that bad since… high school.”

“High school?”

Kise nodded, “He went through stuff. I don’t know, he didn’t tell me much.” He seemed to stop to think for a minute before shrugging. He turned his dazzling smile on me and proposed a sushi place down the road. “He can get through it, don’t worry about him. He’s strong!”

I agreed and Aomine should have left my mind. But for some reason, his strained voice and tense demeanor plagued me all throughout the day.

I couldn’t stop thinking about it, even as I went home. What was bothering him? It started a month ago as well. He had started to grow restless and snappy. He would be quick to point out mistakes and harshly nag when I did problems wrong. Although it annoyed me that he was aggravated so easily, it put me into a weird mix of emotions. I was tempted to ask, “What the fuck is your problem?” but also to stay silent and just push through it until he wasn’t my tutor anymore.

The thought of Aomine not being my tutor made me … sad. No, not sad, just weird. I thought about the tutoring sessions and Kise. I thought about how weird it would be that Aomine would no longer be in the store, period, and how he wouldn’t teach me formulas anymore. It was weird. I wasn’t in love with him; I was in love with Kise. But the feeling nagged me.

I was brought back to his attitude. He was snarky and infuriating, but responsible. He seemed nonchalant but in fact did his best. He worked hard and took things with a level of seriousness that I hadn’t expected from when I first met him. But I also knew, from the days I met him, how lazy he could be and how he could lounge on the barstool all day, complaining about his boss or about a kid he recently worked with.

I thought about how he frowned a lot, but how it would quickly turn to a smirk. I thought about his tall, broad, confident back that wore cardigans and V-necks. And then I thought about today; about his retreating figure and the small hunch that sullied his usual stride.

_‘What happened’?_ I couldn’t help but wonder.

* * *

“I spy something brown!”

I looked around the park, squinting at things and then sighing. “Kise fucking Ryouta, there is no brown.”

Kise giggled and I rolled my eyes, though I grinned. He was like a kid, sometimes.

“Okay, okay, it was a squirrel but he ran away! And you didn’t even guess the tree trunks!”

“Who the hell would use tree trunks as a part of ‘I Spy’?”

“I guess you have a point…” Kise ate his cookie, leaning back on the wooden park bench. I sat next to him, sipping root beer. It was a nice April day, no showers to be seen and sun rays peeking out from behind white clouds. We were basking in the nice weather, which was just right: not too hot, not too cold. Kise was wearing his usual disguise and I wore just a gray t-shirt, navy thin zip-up hoodie, and dark blue jeans.

We sat and talked. Birds chirped, kids screamed, dogs panted as they walked by. It was peaceful. I could have sat there all day, just enjoying the scenery and the tinkling of Kise’s laugh. His whole being oozed ‘comfortable’ and I liked every second of it.

This atmosphere was similar to all of our dates. But there was something different about it, but I couldn’t point it out. Kise seemed a little more reserved today. I didn’t say anything about it.

We walked around the park and then the sun started to set as we reached the main downtown roads. Street lamps lit up and I could feel a chilly breeze set in. I smiled heartily at how content I was and moved closer to Kise, so that our arms touched as we walked.

“How about this Wednesday? Are you doing anything?” I asked Kise. We were planning for our next date. I wanted to check out a new burger joint that opened up.

Kise hummed to himself, something obviously on his mind. He seemed subdued. I watched him look ahead of us as he walked, avoiding my gaze. It was strange, but I paid no mind. People had their strange days. The blond bit his lip and he answered, “Yeah, okay.”

I frowned slightly at his less enthusiastic tone, but I didn’t let it bother me.

I should have.

It was the tone that meant the start of something bad.

* * *

He didn’t show up at the burger joint that Wednesday.

He didn’t show up that Saturday we had planned for a movie night at my place to marathon Breaking Back.

He didn’t come to the tutoring sessions.

He didn’t come to Tiger.

He had disappeared and a week passed. I received no calls or texts. Every time my phone rang, I could already feel the disappointment building in my chest. Every time I worked and expected him to come through the door, the pain filled me like droplets of rainwater in an overflowing lake.

Kise Ryouta the model.

I sat in my apartment, the lights turned off and darkness surrounding me. It felt like Christmas again, except there were no Christmas carols to console me. I was shaking and my teeth chattered. I wasn’t even angry.

I was devastated.

I let my hopes up; I thought I had found him, the perfect guy, someone who appreciated me for me.

Kise Ryouta the model-

-Sighted holding hands with a famous movie director in a foreign country.

I remembered when I worked at Tiger just that morning, Monday, and Takao and Midorima burst in. Midorima looked angry and Takao was fuming. Takao slammed a newspaper down onto the counter and glared into it, as if to burn it to a crisp.

“Kise Ryouta,” Midorima said, his voice a low whisper, “is scum.”

I frowned, about to chastise Midorima for being so rude when he didn’t know the truth of what happened, but Takao grabbed newspaper and pushed it to my chest. I put down the sharpie I held and pulled the paper to reading level.

Takao ordered, “Read it.” He sounded absolutely livid.

I did.

Kise Ryouta and Kasamatsu Yukio. Kasamatsu was the director of many movies such as Atlantic Rim and Guardians of the Universe. They were sighted holding hands in the middle of another country. The picture shown was a paparazzi shot of Kise laughing and Kasamatsu rolling his eyes with their hands intertwined.

I sat still in my living room. I brought my knees up to my chest and held them there.

_‘Fuck, fuck, fuck.’_

Why do I always fall for men out of my league?

_‘I’m absolute shit.’_

Why did they always have to cross paths with me?

_‘I was played.’_

Why do I do this to myself?

_‘I’m a fool, idiot, stupid good-for-nothing that no one will ever fucking want.’_

The darkness was always surrounding me.

* * *

I texted Aomine that night that I did not want to tutor the next day. I asked Tatsuya to cover my shift and I wallowed in self-pity at home. I slept, cooked, ate, slept, cooked, ate. Everything hurt and all I could smell around me was Kise.

I had fucking loved him.

I spent the day pinning away. I thought about how he laughed and how he helped others. I thought about his perfect looks and his endless patience. It was already evening and the sun was barely starting to set.

I had to distract myself. My brain turned to mush and I felt my desperation crawl through. My brain just needed someone else to think about. And Aomine was always there, somewhere in the back of my mind; both his confident self as I first knew him, and his stressed, sensitive self right now.

I disliked it. I disliked myself as I thought about Aomine and the days when we just talked in the coffee shop. I thought about when he would read his mystery novels in the corner of the store.

Then I got tired of myself, feeling like all I did was go to the past.

Nothing but the past.

So, I decided to turn on the TV. I wanted to watch nothing relating to reality TV or anything. Kise was everywhere and Aomine was always in the back of my mind and I couldn’t take it. I turned on the news, instead. A distraction. Something different. A change of pace.

A scene was set up in front of me. The anchor said something I didn’t catch and the camera view was changed to a man on a stage. He was speaking loudly and clearly.

“I am gay, and if my family does not accept it, I will no longer associate myself with the Aomine family and will no longer be their heir.”

Aomine stood in front of a podium, tall and proud. His bags were still visible, but he looked more free and relieved than he had in a long time. Media started to crowd him and he hurriedly jumped out of the spotlight to be ushered somewhere else where he would not be under a barrage of questions.

I stood, dumbstruck. _‘What just happened?’_ I, at first thought that it was ironic that I had turned on the TV to avoid Aomine, but then I realized the bigger matter.

Aomine… was gay. His family was homophobic. And for some reason, he chose to declare this familial dispute publicly.

And for once that day -

\- I forgot about Kise.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wheeee! So Kise is an asshole. Let's not kill me? Maybe? And wait, Aomine isn't the bad guy? Huh?
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter ehe, and I've been wondering if I should write Aomine's perspective on Caffeine! Let me know if you'd like that or if it'd be repetitive!
> 
> ~Brie
> 
>  
> 
> (suck my balls, poop senpai wuz here - letti. brie was being beat up by technology so i had to rescue her)


	12. His Eyes

* * *

“Y’know Kagami, you gotta get back into life _sometime_ ,” Takao said, chewing thoughtfully on the chips he brought over. Midorima sat at the kitchen table beside his boyfriend and nodded. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

The green-haired man continued on for Takao, “For once, he’s smart. Yes, you can’t sit here forever.”

I sighed bitterly. Clutching the guitar my father had given me years ago, I played a soft chord. If only they understood what I was going through. I had gone to classes and done my normal routine, only, it had been two weeks since I last stepped foot into Tiger.

I asked Kuroko to help me out, but told him and even Tatsuya, the bare minimum. I couldn’t step into there, not with the chance of Aomine or Kise walking in. Not as the mess I felt like. How would I face Kise, who so utterly cheated on me and never said a word? How could I face Aomine, who I didn’t seem to hate as much?

I was a coward and I acknowledged it.

“It’s not that easy,” I gruffly replied. “What the hell am I supposed to do?”

Takao rolled his eyes, “I’ve been going into Tiger every day.”

I felt my curiosity peak. “…Is he there?”

“Every single day.”

Midorima threw in, “To the point of obsession. He sees us and tells us to tell you that you are being a, and I quote, ‘weak-ass pussy.’”

Takao and I both froze at the words that came out of Midorima’s mouth before Takao burst into a colorful laughter. The noise seemed to fill the room and my shoulders sagged, tension flowing out. Aomine was the same as he always had been… _before_ shit happened. He never spoke a word to me that seemed casual after I started dating Kise. And now he had the balls to call me a “weak-ass pussy.”

What a bastard.

“He’s a riot. What a way to sweep someone off their feet. And Shin-chan, you actually said the words! I think I busted a gut from laughing too hard,” Takao wiped the tears of laughter.

I wanted to laugh right along with the raven-haired man, but I blinked.

“Sweep off my feet?”

Takao’s jaw fell and Midorima rolled his eyes so dramatically I bet his eyeballs would have jumped out of their socket if they could. They proceeded to burst my eardrums all at once with information I hadn’t expected.

“He’s basically courting you. Inadvertently.”

“He’s telling you that he’d tap you!”

I sat back in my seat and covered my face with the palms of my hands. “What the hell are you two trying to say?” I groaned. “He’s the one who rejected _me_.”

“Kagami,” Midorima called, his voice as calm and infuriating as always. Always made me feel like I was stupid, but at this point, I was betting that I really was stupid. “Have you thought about the fact that his family is homophobic? Maybe he actually liked you.”

I could feel my resolve crumbling, but I wasn’t falling so easily. I wasn’t going to get my hopes up because of speculation.

“Then he could have _told_ me,” I growled. “He’s been an asshole since then!”

“And you haven’t? Kagami, we’ve seen you ignore him. He’s watched you.”

“What?”

Midorima let out an exasperated exhale and Takao chuckled. “He stands outside of Tiger a lot, y’know,” Takao sang. “Doesn’t do anything though… It’s kind of stalker-ish now that I think about it.”

Watching me? I thought… I was imagining things? I pulled my hands from my face to assess Midorima and Takao’s expressions. At my gaze, Takao broke into a grin.

“He _likes_ you, Kagami.”

I shook my head fervently, as if I thought it would wipe my thoughts away. I felt my heart start to soar and my legs were growing weak. I couldn’t let this happen to me. I couldn’t let myself feel _happy_.

What if he wasn’t the same?

What if whatever I felt for him wasn’t what he felt for me?

What if they were wrong?

Midorima sighed again. “Just go back to work. You’ve already put too much of a burden on Kuroko and on Himuro Tatsuya. You can’t run away from him forever. If you don’t like him, _tell him so_.”

I bit my lip and groaned again.

He continued, “If you want to be a coward, then _be one_. But Kagami, you are not a coward. An idiot, maybe, but not a coward.”

There was a silence afterwards and Takao whistled. “You were pretty cool, Shin-chan.”

Midorima’s cheeks colored slightly and he told his boyfriend to shut up. I could feel myself feel better by the second after my friend’s tirade. Soon, a small smile was on my face and I closed my eyes for a second before opening them.

Takao and Midorima could probably sense the gratefulness in my gaze because they beamed back.

“Thanks, guys. I’ll… come back tomorrow.”

I asked them if I could get them another cup of coffee or something, but they said no and got up to leave. As they left the entryway, I could feel energy draining from my body.

It would all start again tomorrow.

 

* * *

 

“Sorry, Kuroko, I-

“It’s fine, Kagami-kun. You need some days to rest.”

Words couldn’t describe how much I appreciated the people I had in my life. How much it means when Takao tries to cheer me up, how much it means when Midorima tries to give me advice, how much it means when Kuroko’s there as my back-up. I was ready to hug the man to bits. Before I could (to my embarrassment) pull him into a bear hug, I heard the door bells jingle. I immediately tensed.

Footsteps came increasingly near and my eyes never left Kuroko’s face. From the smaller man’s expression, however, it was clear who had just come through the door.

My mind was racing 100 miles per minute. The last time I spoke to him was during tutoring before Kise cheated on me and before I found out about him being gay and stuff. Was I supposed to be smiling? Should I say something first?

I heard the creak of the stool and I was acutely aware of the body in the seat.

“Yo.”

I clenched my fists slightly and almost tried to ignore the greeting. But Kuroko’s eyes bored into mine. He was telling me to not be rude. He was telling me to do just do things as I feel. After all, I had never been one to think before acting.

So I didn’t think.

I turned and was hit again by how attractive Aomine was. His hair was unkempt as usual, but the bags under his eyes were nearly gone. His navy eyes were sparkling and his mouth was pulled into the usual smirk, though this time it made him look younger, less stressed. He was watching me, and though his eyes were sparkling, they held a bit of doubt and fear.

“Are you going to take my order?” he asked.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

“Yeah, whaddya want?”

“Rude,” Aomine said, leaning back and interlocking his fingers at the back of his head. “I need to speak with your manager.”

I almost laughed, hit with the sudden nostalgia. “I _am_ the manager, dumbass.”

He feigned surprise and then muttered, “Strange, you haven’t been around the past week, so I assumed Tetsu was…”

I growled, “Well sorry, I’ve been _busy_.”

“Busy?” his eyebrows raised in mock confusion. “More like wafting in self-pity?”

I felt myself twitch in irritation and… sadness. I hadn’t completely gotten over Kise and Aomine had hit a soft spot. Aomine noticed my lack of response and he was quick to react.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to…” he bit out, “I thought you were over him.”

I turned my face away, feeling vulnerable. “I _am_.” I mentally hit myself. It was obvious from my own tone of voice that I was still hurt and afraid.

Aomine’s face fell and he leaned forward, his arms resting on the counter. “I’m sorry, really. Kise is a good guy. But I told you… he’s… different. He’s too free.”

I looked at Aomine. I _really_ looked at him. His words were sincere and his expression held no animosity. He _cared_. But I recoiled.

I couldn’t fall back into this rhythm. Not again.

Aomine growled; sounding frustrated. He ruffled his own hair and closed his eyes before opening them back up. His gaze was intense as he stared at the wall opposite of him. “I fucking _told_ him. If he hurt you he had hell to pay. I _told_ him and I was going to kill him once I read the newspaper. I was ready to tear off his head.” His voice was soft, but devastatingly threatening.

I lost the ability to respond, but Aomine continued on.

“But I did warn you,” he turned his eyes to me. “He’s flighty and actually, the guy is his ex. I don’t know what the hell went on between them, but it’s not my place. What matters now is that _you’re single_.”

I cocked my head to the side, trying to digest everything. Aomine watched me and his blue orbs were unsettlingly calm.

“I’m single,” I repeated slowly.

“You’re single.” His voice dripped with something sweet and lusty all at once. It held unbidden desires and promises.

It was too fucking dangerous.

“I’m single,” I said, this time more confidently. I nodded my head. “Well, what can I get you?”

He frowned slightly but played along. “Hot chocolate.”

I set to making it, not the least perturbed at his gaze. I did the moves mechanically, trying not to think of the last time I made him hot chocolate. But there he was, gay and (apparently) interested in me, from what Takao and Midorima said. Should I believe them? Didn’t I deserve someone who didn’t treat me like shit for a good 5 months?

Well maybe not _shit_. He just… ignored me because I ignored him. I suddenly felt guilty. He helped me with physics from the bottom of his heart and prepared a shit load of crap to help me study. He wasn’t even being paid. I felt my heart clench at the remembrance of how I ignored his earlier attempts at conversation.

I was such an asshole?

But he started it?

Or did he?

I felt my head rush. Too many memories tried to surface and I pushed them back.

My mind was blank as I dolloped the drink with whip cream. I placed the hot chocolate in front of him and I didn’t register as a look of recognizable hurt passed through his features. He looked at me, honest sadness in his eyes and something akin to surrender. He suddenly seemed smaller. His smirk was gone, replaced with a frown.

I looked at his drink and realized as well what was missing: cookie crumbles.

I didn’t reach out my hand to fix it.

Aomine didn’t reach out his hand to drink it.

“I watched the news,” I said. “Didn’t know you were… gay.”

Aomine let his eyes, which had rested on the cup, move up to my face. He nodded somberly. He still made no move to drink the hot chocolate. The silence was awkward and I tried to pay attention to the coffee beans being grinded or the steady rushing of cars outside the café.

He interrupted my intense concentration on things that weren’t him. His voice reached my ears, a gentle, “Kagami.”

I was afraid to look at his face. I was afraid to say anything. I just wanted to melt into the floor, not having to face this moment. But there was something inside of me saying, “Maybe this will be your happy ending?”

Who knew if I didn’t take the leap?

“Yeah?”

“Go out with me?”

Dark eyes, so dark I could drown, bored into my soul. His frown was still there, though it was less pronounced. His shoulders were tense, as if ready to take a blow and his fingers were interlocked tightly, lying on the counter. He looked like he was ready to surrender. I took in all of him: his hair, his collarbone, the furrow between his brows. I thought of when we would talk for hours in Tiger. I thought of the embarrassment I felt at Maji Burger. It felt so long ago, since I had talked to Aomine.

I brought my hand to his hot chocolate, carefully and gently pulling it away from him. He still watched me, though he looked so distraught, my own heart wrenched. I poured on cookie crumbles, quickly placed it back where it had been, and looked up.

His eyes had never looked so bright.

How could I find the heart to tell him... that it was too late? 

 

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhhh shit. 
> 
> I'm sorry that this update took so long! Please enjoy, and as usual, I would love to read comments! 
> 
> Brie.


	13. His Ending

* * *

“Taiga!”

“What, mom?” I yelled from the living room. My mom came stomping in, glaring as much as a mother could. With one hand on her hip and the other pointing to the guitar she said, “I haven’t heard you play! You have a gig at a cafe this afternoon.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Well?”

“Okay, okay! I’ll play.” 

She beamed and walked away, bobbing her head and feeling proud of herself.

I looked at the guitar and then to the view outside. The house was a small one, cozy and warm. There were clouds splattered in the blue sky and the lawn was green. America - not so different than Japan. I didn’t think of much as I hoisted myself up to grab the instrument.

I strummed and hummed back in the chair. How many months ago had I left? I didn’t feel very sad… there just was an empty feeling. A little part of me felt incomplete without the cafe, Tetsu, Midorima, Takao and… someone.

I closed my eyes and played the guitar softly, practicing the same songs I had always loved. My parents, who had originally been on a 4-month vacation in America had decided to move there. To forget, move on, and grow, I came with them. I was tired of Kise, tired of Aomine; confused and tired. 

I was suddenly pulled out of my deep thoughts by a small ring: a text message. 

“Just got a vanilla latte! 75th drink to my tab”

I smiled and rolled my eyes. Takao’s face with a cheeky grin lit up my screen with Midorima scowling in the background. I texted back, “You better pay back that shit.”

“I will when you come back,” came the reply. I sighed. Putting down the phone, I took a deep breath in.

There was no going back. I planned to continue college in America and just start all over. Maybe one day find someone special again, have a career, and be okay.

One day.

* * *

“Hey guys. This is my first gig here, take it easy on me,” I said into the mic. A couple girls giggled and I sat comfortably in my chair. It had been a while with me playing guitar for a cafe.

I began to play, the notes rolling off me with ease. I loved starting off with the soft, breezy kind of songs for such a beautiful spring day. I already knew the song by heart and decided to instead just observe as I played.

It was a small cafe next to the college I was going to start attending in the fall. The windows opened to let in the sunlight and fresh air and it gave the store a much bigger presence. The cafe was scattered with small couches, chairs and tables for customers as well as cute little decorations on the walls.

My eyes trailed over the people I was performing for: an old couple chatting away in the corner, 3 girls with tea in front, a middle aged couple waiting for their drinks, and a group 4 college students studying in the back. 

It threw me back to high school. Frequently my parents made me play for the cafe until I decided I couldn’t handle it with my high school workload and just didn’t want to deal with it almost every afternoon. Back then, though, I didn’t appreciate the calm and the atmosphere. Right now, I actually liked it. It gave me something to be doing and I could feel how content everyone in the cafe was, almost as if no one had anywhere to be or anything to do.

I finished the first song, that was mainly instrumental with humming, and smiled a small smile. I almost felt like a different person than the person I was in Japan when I left.

* * *

“Wait, where is he?”

“He left.”

“What the hell do you mean, he left?” Aomine growled. “Like, okay, I get that he was pissed at me and shit, but he just up and left?”

“He’s gone, Aomine. He turned you down and moved.”

Aomine closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Tetsu, you don’t understand. You need to tell me where he is.”

Kuroko looked at his friend, seeing the desperation and longing in his eyes made it difficult, but he knew Kagami had left for a reason. Kuroko sighed and shook his head, “I’m sorry, Aomine… Kagami wouldn’t want me to tell you.” 

Aomine clenched his fist and felt the big ache in his gut. The feeling he always got when he was away from Kagami, when he knew he had hurt the redhead. Aomine looked out at the cafe, eyes examining the book shelves, the small love seats, the jar of cookie crumbles at the counter.

“Please, Tetsu, please.”

“Why?” Kuroko frowned, “Why do you need to know, Aomine?”

Aomine paused and felt a small blush creep onto his cheeks. Damn, was he still embarrassed about it?

“I’ve been in love with him since high school…”

* * *

“Back next week?” the cafe manager asked.

“Yeah, same time,” I replied, tucking my guitar back into its case. Most of the cafe was cleared and the barista on hand was sweeping the floor. It was around 7:00pm, not dark yet and still beautiful outside. It was about a 30 minute walk back home so I decided the burger joint across the street was a good choice for dinner, though American burgers sure are different than Japanese.

“Okay, see you next week, Taiga.”

I waved back and walked out the door, thinking the jingling of the bells attached to the door made me nostalgic.

“Weird how America calls everyone by their first name. Kinda pissed that he used it,” came a voice.

I immediately turned to my right at the sound of the familiar voice. I was met with piercing blue eyes, hands stuffed into denim jean pockets, and cheeks that held… blush? 

“A-Aomine..?” I stuttered. All my thoughts were thrown into a jumble. The man looked as handsome as ever in dark blue jeans and a fitted grey v-neck. I tried to think of something witty or a come back or something, something that indicated that I was mad, to come out of my mouth. After all, this was stalker-ish, I had left Japan for a reason, and I just was caught off guard. “What the hell?”

“Yo,” he replied, casually. 

“I repeat, _what the hell_! How did you find me here?? Why are you here?? Jesus fuckin’ Christ, Aomine, I left Japan and now we’re both in fuckin’ America. What the hell??”

All Aomine did was smile. I fumed because one, he didn’t respond, and two, I still melted inside at the smile.

“I missed you playing guitar.”

“Huh?” Now I was really confused. “How did you know I played?”

Aomine rubbed his neck sheepishly and the small blush was back on his face. “Well you were just playing..”

“Yeah, but I asked how you knew I did! You have to had known something to miss it, dumbass.”

“I know, I know! You.. played at Tiger back in high school, didn’t you?”

“Yeah…?”

Suddenly, memories became very vivid. Memories of seeing a lanky blue-haired boy always ordering hazelnut coffee, awkwardly standing around in the cafe as I played, memories of dark blue eyes constantly on me as I introduced myself to the people in the cafe. 

A memory… of a blue haired boy being grabbed by the arm and dragged out of the cafe, an argument between a son and a father. Kagami remembered it quite well, it had disturbed the entire cafe. 

_“My son, coming here and disgracing me. An idiot!”_

_“You’re the one making us look like idiots! Yelling and fucking pushing me around. Let me do what I want, you bastard!”_

_“You are leaving now. You are never coming back here, never seeing that boy again. A disgrace to all of the Aomine family!”_

I was pulled out of my memories as Aomine looked up to the sky. Aomine… a blue haired boy with blue eyes and a homophobic family. My eyebrows furrowed as I tried to piece everything together.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” I asked. Aomine shrugged. He was silent for a while until he looked back at me.

“Didn’t think you ever noticed me or anything.”

“I did…” I whispered. Aomine blushed a little more.

“Oh.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me about your family? You didn’t have to push me away and all that shit.”

“I… my family tracked me for weeks, saw who I hung out with and where I would go. I couldn’t look friendly with you or else they never would let me come back to Tiger…” he said forlornly, “and I didn’t want that to happen again. I liked you playing guitar. I liked seeing you.” Aomine’s eyes moved to the floor. I couldn’t believe everything I was hearing.

“Idiot,” I breathed.

Aomine continued looking at the floor. I couldn’t think of what he must be thinking, going through all the shit he did. The idiot.

Idiot.

Idiot.

Idiot.

I grabbed the back of his neck and pushed his face into mine. Our lips fell into each other, almost seamlessly.

A kiss that was rough and soft, all at once. The empty feeling in my gut was gone. I no longer felt merely “not sad,” but a soaring happiness filled me. Dammit, it was almost like I was hyped on too much caffeine; shaky hands, crazy energy. 

I swear, that shit is bad for the soul.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the year and a half delay. I got caught up in life and just today, I decided I wanted to finish it. End the story and give you all an ending. Thank you, for sticking with me as this finished. I will forever love AoKaga, it's such a big part of me.
> 
> I hope you all loved this story! 
> 
> Brie.


End file.
